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Submitted by analitica2 on Thu, 10/24/2024 - 11:05

Spanish formal commands: affirmative and negative

On the other hand, the Spanish formal command is the one used to speak in a more polite way with people you don't know or respect. For this form, the third person of the present subjunctive is used for both the affirmative and negative forms with the pronoun “usted”.

Here are examples with the verbs above:

  • Hable (usted) E.g. Hable más alto (Speak up)
  • Cante (usted) E.g. Cante por la mañana (Sing in the morning)
  • Coma (usted) E.g. Coma esta manzana (Eat this apple)
  • Beba (usted) E.g. Beba agua en verano (Drink water in the summer)
  • Escriba (usted) E.g. Escriba al presidente (Write to the president)
  • No sea (usted) E.g. No sea tan duro consigo mismo (Don't be so hard on yourself)
  • No haga (usted) E.g. No haga cometarios inapropiados (Don't make inappropriate comments)

These are just a few conjugations with common Spanish verbs, but there are many more, regular and irregular, that you can start using the Spanish commands. Do you have any doubts? Sign up for an intensive Spanish course with don Quijote and get the most out of the language.

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Submitted by analitica2 on Thu, 10/24/2024 - 11:04

Negative Spanish commands

As for the negative form of the imperative, once you have learned the affirmative, it is very simple. To the affirmative form you must add the particle “no” in front of it and use the present subjunctive of the verb.

Here are some examples:

  • No hables (tú) E.g. No hables tan alto (Don't talk so loud)
  • No habléis (vosotros) E.g. No habléis en el teatro (Don't talk at the theater)
  • No cantes (tú) E.g. No cantes por la mañana (n't sing in the morning)
  • No cantéis (vosotros) E.g. No cantéis durante la visita al museo (Don't sing during a visit to the museum)
  • No comas (tú) E.g. No comas a deshoras (Don't eat at the wrong time)
  • No comáis (vosotros) E.g. No comáis nada antes de cenar (Don't eat anything before dinner)
  • No bebas (tú) E.g. No bebas alcohol entre semana (Don't drink alcohol during the week)
  • No bebáis (vosotros) E.g. No bebáis refrescos todos los días (Don't drink soft drinks every day)
  • No escribas (tú) E.g. No escribas con el boli rojo (Don't write with a red pen)
  • No escribáis (vosotros) E.g. No escribáis en las paredes (Don't write on the walls)

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Submitted by analitica2 on Thu, 10/24/2024 - 11:03

The only exception is with verbs ending in “-ir” in the second person singular, in which case you only must change the “I” for an “e”. Here are some examples, depending on the ending of the verb.

Verbs ending in -ar:

  • Habla (tú). Example: Habla más despacio (Speak more slowly)
  • Hablad (vosotros). E.g. Hablad entre vosotros primero (Talk to each other first)
  • Canta (tú). g. Canta tu canción favorita (Sing your favorite song)
  • Cantad (vosotros). E.g. Cantad el villancico en Navidad (Sing the carol at Christmas)

Verbs ending in -er:

  • Come (tú). E.g. Come más verduras (Eat more vegetables)
  • Comed (vosotros). g. Comed en silencio (Eat in silence)
  • Bebe (tú) E.g. Bebe más agua (Drink more water)
  • Bebed (vosotros) E.g. Bebed antes de salir a correr (Drink before going for a run)

Verbs ending in -ir:

  • Escribe (tú) E.g. Escribe la redacción (Write the essay)
  • Escribid (vosotros) E.g. Escribid el trabajo en grupo (Write the group work)
  • Conduce (tú) E.g. Conduce más despacio (Drive slower)
  • Conducid (vosotros) E.g. Conducid siguiendo la línea blanca (Drive following the white line)

Most regular verbs follow this rule, but what about the imperative mood in irregular verbs? Each irregular verb follows its own form of the second person singular, here are some of the most common ones:

  • Ser: Sé (tú) E.g. Sé amable con tu primo (Be nice to your cousin)
  • Hacer: Haz (tú) E.g. Haz caso a la profesora (Listen to the teacher)
  • Ir: Ve (tú) E.g. Ve tú solo a hacer la compra (Go by yourself to do the shopping)
  • Decir: Di (tú) E.g. Di qué hiciste ayer (Say what you did yesterday)
  • Salir: Sal (tú) E.g. Sal de casa con la mochila (Go out of the house with your backpack)
  • Tener: Ten (tú) E.g. Ten paciencia (Be patient)
  • Venir: Ven (tú) g. Ven a casa esta tarde (Come home this afternoon)
  • Poner: Pon (tú) E.g. Pon la mesa (Set the table)
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