Imperative Mood

Welcome to our grammar lesson about formal commands and negative commands in Spanish. This lesson will teach you everything about these types of Commands: the verb forms we need and how to use them, providing example sentences. A negative command, and then a formal command Of course, there are commands that are both formal and negative at the same time. This lesson covers them too. At the end you’ll find a Quiz and Exercises for practice. Click here if you would rather learn about Affirmative Informal commands Verb forms We give negative or formal commands by borrowing verb forms from another tense: the Present Subjunctive. Simply apply the following logic: As examples, we are going to use the verbs "hablar" and "ir". For each verb, we will first show the full conjugation in Present Subjunctive. Then we will form the different commands we are looking for. "hablar" Here is the verb "hablar" in Present Subjunctive: And now let's form the different commands: Negative "tú" command → Take Present Subjunctive's "tú" form No hables conmigo.Don’t talk to me. Negative "vosotros" command → Take Present Subjunctive's "vosotros" form No habléis tan alto.Don’t you guys talk so loud. "usted" commands (both affirmative and negative) → Take Present Subjunctive's "usted" form Hable con la secretaria.Talk to the secretary. (sir)No hable con la jefa.Don’t talk to the boss. (sir) "ustedes" commands (both affirmative and negative) → Take Present Subjunctive's "ustedes" form Hablen más despacio, por favor.Please talk slower. (gentlemen)No hablen durante el examen.Don’t talk during the exam. (gentlemen) "ir" Here is the verb “ir” in Present Subjunctive: And now let's form the different commands: Negative "tú" command → Take Present Subjunctive's "tú" form No vayas a ese bar.Don’t go to that bar. Negative "vosotros" command → Take Present Subjunctive's "vosotros" form No vayáis tan lejos.Don’t you guys go so far. "usted" commands (both affirmative and negative) → Take Present Subjunctive's "usted" form Vaya al médico.Go to the doctor. (sir)No vaya al curandero.Don’t go to the healer. (sir) "ustedes" commands (both affirmative and negative) → Take Present Subjunctive's "ustedes" form Vayan a la estación.Go to the station. (gentlemen)No vayan a la playa hoy.Don’t go to the beach today. (gentlemen) Placement of reflexive and object pronouns To include reflexive or object pronouns like me, te, lo, le, la, los, las, nos, os, se… with a command, we decide their placement depending on the command being affirmative or negative: If the command is affirmative, we attach the pronouns at the end of the verb It can be just one pronoun or even two (one after another): Examples: Cómprelo.Buy it. (sir)Dúchese.Take a shower. (sir)Díganmelo.Tell it to me. (gentlemen) If the command is negative, the pronouns go right before the verb, written separately It can be just one pronoun or even two (one after another): Examples: No me lo mandes.Don’t send it to me.No se acueste todavía.Don’t go to bed yet (sir).No lo tengan en cuenta.Don’t take it into account (gentlemen). Accent marks when pronouns are attached "usted" and "ustedes" commands always get a an accent mark when we attach pronouns to them. The accent mark is always on the 3rd, 4th or 5th vowel of the resulting word (counting from right to left). Just hear the word, and the vowel that sounds stressed must have the accent mark. Example: Cómprelo Practice Quiz Take this short Quiz to test your knowledge about formal and negative commands: Exercise 1 A mother gives negative commands to his child. Fill the gaps using negative "tú" commands: 1) Pablito, no ___ (hacer) ruido.Pablito, don't make noise.2) No ___ (comer) tan deprisa.Don't eat so fast.3) No ___ (poner) la música tan alta.Don't put the music so loud.4) No __ ___ (levantarse) tarde.Don't get up late.5) No ___ (jugar) a la consola muchas horas.Don't play the console for long hours. Solutions:1) hagas2) comas3) pongas4) te levantes ("levantarse" is a reflexive verb, so we need the reflexive pronoun)5) juegues Exercise 2 A teacher gives negative commands to several students. Fill the gaps using negative "vosotros" commands: 1) Chicos, no ___ (hablar) entre vosotros.Guys, don't talk to each other.2) No ___ (mirar) el móvil en clase.Don't look at your cell phone in class.3) No ___ (copiar) de vuestros compañeros.Do not copy from your classmates.4) No ___ (venir) mañana sin hacer las tareas.Don't come tomorrow without doing your homework.5) No ___ (ser) tan ruidosos.Don't be so loud. Solutions:1) habléis2) miréis3) copiéis4) vengáis5) seáis Exercise 3 A boss gives commands to one employee. Fill the gaps using "usted" commands: 1) Señor García, ___ (venir) por favor a mi despacho.Mr. Garcia, please come to my office.2) ___ (hacer) usted un informe.Make a report.3) ___ (entregar) mañana a primera hora.Give it to me first thing in the morning tomorrow.4) No __ __ ___ (entregar) más tarde, por favor.Don't give it to me later, please. Solutions:1) venga2) Haga3) Entréguemelo4) me lo entregue Exercise 4 A boss gives commands to several employees. Fill the gaps using "ustedes" commands: 1) Señores, ____ (venir) por favor a mi despacho.Gentlemen, please come to my office.2) ____ (hablar) con nuestro cliente.Talk to our client.3) ____ (decir) que tenemos una oferta para él.Tell him we have an offer for him.4) No __ ____ (dar) más información por el momento.Do not give him more information at the moment. Solutions:1) vengan2) Hablen3) Díganle4) le den Related topics Check out these lessons: Affirmative Informal CommandsReflexive VerbsObject Pronouns

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Affirmative Informal Commands in Spanish