Every day you give and receive commands: "Come in," "Turn left," "Don't worry." Spanish has a dedicated mood for this, the imperative, and it changes shape depending on whom you're addressing and whether you're saying do something or don't. It looks like a lot of forms at first, but a clear pattern runs through all of them.
Spanish picks the command form from the same "you" you'd use in conversation: informal tú and vosotros (Spain), formal usted and ustedes, and the inclusive nosotros ("let's").
The friendly affirmative tú command is simply the third-person singular of the present tense — the "él/ella" form. Easy.
| Verb | Tú command | English |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | speak |
| comer | come | eat |
| escribir | escribe | write |
Eight common verbs are irregular here. Memorise them as a set — they show up constantly.
| Verb | Tú command | Verb | Tú command |
|---|---|---|---|
| decir | di | salir | sal |
| hacer | haz | ser | sé |
| ir | ve | tener | ten |
| poner | pon | venir | ven |
Here's the key that unlocks the rest. All negative commands, and every affirmative and negative form for usted, ustedes, and nosotros, use the present subjunctive. Take the "yo" form, drop the -o, and add the "opposite vowel" endings: -ar verbs take -e endings, -er/-ir verbs take -a endings.
| Person | hablar | comer | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| usted | hable | coma | (you formal) speak / eat |
| ustedes | hablen | coman | (you all) speak / eat |
| nosotros | hablemos | comamos | let's speak / eat |
| tú (negative) | no hables | no comas | don't speak / eat |
Notice the elegant symmetry: every command form uses the subjunctive stem except the affirmative tú. So habla más despacio (speak slower) becomes no hables tan rápido (don't speak so fast) in the negative — the form actually changes when you add "no."
Object and reflexive pronouns attach to the end of affirmative commands (often adding a written accent to keep the stress) and go before negative ones.
| Affirmative | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| Dímelo. | No me lo digas. | Tell it to me. / Don't tell it to me. |
| Levántate. | No te levantes. | Get up. / Don't get up. |
| Siéntense. | No se sienten. | Sit down (you all). / Don't sit down. |
For let's go, Spanish uses vamos rather than the expected vayamos. The negative, however, is regular: no vayamos — let's not go.
Answers: Abre; abras; Espere; Comamos.
Bare commands can sound blunt. To be polite, Spanish often wraps the request: ¿Podrías pasarme la sal? (Could you pass me the salt?) or adds por favor. Regional habits vary too — in much of Latin America the imperative feels perfectly friendly among peers, while in some settings a question form is warmer.
You already know the textbook nosotros command — the present subjunctive, as in comamos (let's eat) or hablemos (let's speak). In everyday speech, though, native speakers very often reach for a simpler alternative: vamos a + infinitive. Both mean the same thing, and you'll hear them side by side.
| Subjunctive form | Everyday vamos a form | English |
|---|---|---|
| Comamos algo. | Vamos a comer algo. | Let's eat something. |
| Empecemos ya. | Vamos a empezar ya. | Let's start now. |
| Veamos la película. | Vamos a ver la película. | Let's watch the movie. |
One thing to watch: vamos a + infinitive is ambiguous in isolation — out of context it can also just mean "we are going to (do something)." Intonation and situation clear it up. The plain subjunctive (comamos) is never ambiguous, so it's the safer choice in writing.
When a reflexive pronoun attaches to an affirmative nosotros command, the final -s of the ending disappears before nos. So irse gives vámonos (let's go / let's get going), not vamos-nos; sentarse gives sentémonos (let's sit down), not sentemos-nos. The negative keeps the pronoun in front and the full ending: no nos vayamos, no nos sentemos.
Sometimes you want to order or wish something onto a third person — someone who isn't the one you're talking to ("Let him wait," "May they have a good trip"). Spanish handles this with que + present subjunctive. Think of it as a leftover from a fuller sentence like Espero que… or Dile que… ("I hope that… / Tell him to…") with the beginning dropped.
| Spanish | English | Literal sense |
|---|---|---|
| ¡Que pase! | Send him/her in! / Let them come in! | (let it be) that they come in |
| ¡Que tengas suerte! | Good luck! (lit. may you have luck) | that you have luck |
| ¡Que aproveche! | Enjoy your meal! | that it may do you good |
| ¡Que lo pases bien! | Have a good time! | that you spend it well |
| ¡Que se mejore! | Get well soon! (to/about someone formal) | that they get better |
Notice these are extremely common as set phrases for good wishes. The subject can come after the verb for clarity: Que lo haga Juan. (Let Juan do it.) Object and reflexive pronouns go before the verb here, just as they do with negative commands — because grammatically this is a subjunctive clause, not a bare affirmative command: Que me llamen mañana. (Have them call me tomorrow.)
Fill each blank with the correct command form. Watch for reflexive spelling and pronoun placement.