Imperative in Spanish (affirmative commands)
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Imperative in Spanish (affirmative commands)
Spanish has two ways of expressing orders. The affirmative and the negative form of the imperative. Here is the affirmative form:
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Forming the imperative: Instructions TO DO something (imperativo affirmativo)
- 1.1.Formation of the imperative (affirmative) - tú
- 1.2.Formation of the imperative (affirmative) - usted, ustedes and nosotros
- 1.3.Formation of the imperative (affirmative) - vosotros
- 2.Irregular forms in imperativo afirmativo
- 2.1.8 highly irregular verbs in Imperative
- 3.Position of object pronouns
- 4.Exercises
- 4.1.Conjugate the verbs in Imperative (affirmative)
- 4.2.Practice the formation of the imperative (affirmative)
- 4.3.Practice the formation of the imperative with object pronouns
Forming the imperative: Instructions TO DO something (imperativo affirmativo)
The imperative does not exist for all "persons", but only for tú, nosotros, vosotros and usted or ustedes. The endings are significantly different from the endings of other tenses and must be memorized. What you have to keep in mind is that the vowels in some of the endings change. Some forms can also be found in the subjuntivo.
| Personal pronoun | Imperative llamar | Imperative beber | Imperative escribir |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | llama | bebe | escribe |
| usted | llame | beba | escriba |
| nosotros/-as | llamemos | bebamos | escribamos |
| vosotros/-as | llamad | bebed | escribid |
| ustedes | llamen | beban | escriban |
Formation of the imperative (affirmative) - tú
The formation of tú (2nd person-singular) can be derived from the 3rd person-singular of the Present (Indicative)
| Infinitive | 3. Person Sing. Present | 2. Person Sing. Imperative (affirmative) |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | habla |
| llamar | llama | llama |
- imperativo afirmativo: ¡Llama a tu amiga! (tú) (Call your friend!)
- indicativo presente: (ella) Llama a su amiga. (She calls her friend)
Formation of the imperative (affirmative) - usted, ustedes and nosotros
The imperative forms of usted (3rd person-singular) and ustedes (3rd person-plural), as well as nosotros (1st person plural) are formed "normally" as in the indicative present tense, but for verbs on -ar the vowel of the ending becomes e and for verbs on -er and -ir the vowel changes into an a. This pattern can also be found in the subjuntivo present.
- imperativo afirmativo: ¡Bebamos! (nosotros) (Let's drink!)
- indicativo presente: Nosotros bebemos. (We drink)
Formation of the imperative (affirmative) - vosotros
The imperative form of vosotros (2nd person plural) can be derived from the infinitive. Only the r at the end of the infinitive is replaced by d.
- infinitivo: escribir (to write)
- imperativo afirmativo: ¡Escribid! (Write!)
Irregular forms in imperativo afirmativo
Verbs that are already irregular in the 3rd person-singular (él, ella, usted) in the present tense (indicative) also have the same irregularity in the imperative 2nd person-singular. This applies to diphtong, vocal changes and changes due to the pronunciation rules.
- indicativo presente: Empieza. (He/She starts)
- imperativo afirmativo: ¡Empieza! (Start!)
- indicativo presente: Carlos vuelve a casa. (Carlos comes back home)
- imperativo afirmativo: ¡Vuelve a casa! (Come back home!)
- indicativo presente: Elige. (He/She chooses)
- imperativo afirmativo: ¡Elige! (Choose!)
For a little refresh, you can check the present tense page again 
8 highly irregular verbs in Imperative
The Spanish imperative has 8 highly irregular verbs (decir, hacer, ir, tener, venir, salir, traer and oír).
| Personal pronoun | decir | hacer | ir | tener |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tú | di | haz | ve | ten |
| usted | diga | haga | vaya | tenga |
| nosotros/-as | digamos | hagamos | vayamos | tengamos |
| vosotros/-as | decid | haced | id | tened |
| ustedes | digan | hagan | vayan | tengan |
| ser | venir | salir | traer | oír |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sé | ven | sal | trae | oye |
| sea | venga | salga | traiga | oiga |
| seamos | vengamos | salgamos | traigamos | oigamos |
| sed | venid | salid | traed | oíd |
| sean | vengan | salgan | traigan | oigan |
Position of object pronouns
If you are telling someone TO DO something, the object pronouns join on to the END of the verb. An accent is usually added to make sure that the stress in the imperative verb stays.
- ¡Explícamelo! (Explain it to me!)
- ¡Perdóneme! (Excuse-me!)
- Dígame (Tell me)
- Esperémosla (Let's wait for her)
Note that when there are two object pronouns, the indirect object pronoun always goes before the direct object pronoun.
Don't forget to look at the negative imperative too! It is formed differently!
Exercises
Conjugate the verbs in Imperative (affirmative)
Practice the formation of the imperative (affirmative)
Practice the formation of the imperative with object pronouns
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Daniela is a wonderful teacher and a pleasure to talk to. Any student would be lucky to have her as a teacher. Thank you Daniela for your help with my Italian!!!
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Ciao Robbie, thanks a lot for your feedback. I'm very happy you like the classes together and I'll do my best to keep them as fun and interesting as possible :-)
Alba B.
I had my first lesson a couple of days ago and everything went super good! Karin was attentive, transmiting her positivism and helping me with every doubt I had. She really focus on teaching how to pronounce and talk a language, so this is really interesting for me, to practise it & be able to use it in my day by day. I really recommend her to everyone willing to learn a new language :)
Karin L.
Hi Alba! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I enjoyed our class too & I wish you the best of luck with all your future projects :-)
Silvia B.
Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.
Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!
Alessandra C.
I am very satisfied with the teaching method. I highly recommend it if you want to learn the German language correctly. He has a lot of patience and can teach in a very relaxed way. Very very good
FIORINA D.
Thanks a lot. It is understood that for any difficulty and / or misunderstanding I am at your disposal.Rina
Philippe S.
Alberto corresponds perfectly to my request to converse while teaching me grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Philippe
Alberto A.
Thank you Philippe for your beautiful words. Yours sincerely.
Benissimo, come sempre! ;-) A nice combination of conversation and following a work book. I certainly recommend Luisa if you want to learn Italian from scratch!
Luisa A.
Dear Erik thank you so much for your great feedback !!!!!
Clemence D.
Virginia is smiling and supportive all the time! She speaks many languages any addition of Spanish so she's able to help if I don't understand in Spanish. She provides structured lessons with clear goals and different ways to learn. Therefore the lesson is dynamic and very efficient. She's committed to help her students and you can see it since the beginning. Many thanks Virginia!
Virginia N.
Many thanks to you Clemence. See you! :-))))
Peter B.
In our lessons, we do mostly conversation, as that is what I need most. Ciğdem is very patient and positive. Her explanations are always clear. I'm learning a lot from our lessons.
Cigdem P.
Thank you for your feedback Peter :)
Sereen J.
it was really a great lesson with Darya, shes very organized and prepared and her speaking is obvious I enjoyed our lesson so much, and her English is very good and understandable which make it easier to have the lesson she's a great teacher I recommend her for sure
Derya K.
Thank you Sereen! Derya
Aleksandra K.
Deborah is a teacher with whom it is always a pleasure to work. She is punctual, professional and always ready to adapt to your student needs. I can't wait for the next lesson to arrive. :)
Deborah M.
Thanks Aleksandra !!
Leandra P.
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Alessia T.
Thank you Leandra!
Gert D.
A great teacher, competent, friendly and I learned a lot. Je suis enchante. Dr. Gert Keller
Marlene F.
Gerard V.
First part about the food was a little bit too easy. The second part however was exactly what I needed. A very good basis for my exercises this week. Looking forward to the next lesson.
Alexandra A.
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