Mastering the Imperative in Spanish (El Imperativo)
Welcome to your study guide on the imperative! Have you ever told a friend to "Listen!", asked someone to "Pass the ball!", or followed directions like "Turn right!"? In Spanish, whenever you give an order, follow an instruction, or give friendly advice, you use a special verb form called the imperative mood (el imperativo).
Don't worry if this sounds a bit formal at first. Giving commands in Spanish is very straightforward once you learn a few simple patterns. Let's break it down step by step!
1. What is the Imperative Used For?
In everyday life and in your Spanish lessons, you will encounter the imperative in several common situations:
• Classroom instructions: When your teacher tells you to do something (e.g. ¡Escucha! – Listen! / ¡Lee! – Read! / ¡Escribe! – Write!).
• Giving directions in town: Helping someone find their way (e.g. Gira a la derecha – Turn right / Sigue todo recto – Go straight on).
• Recipes and rules: Following cooking steps or game instructions (e.g. Mezcla – Mix / Pasa – Pass).
Key Takeaway: The imperative is the "bossy" verb form used to give orders, directions, and instructions.
2. Informal Singular Commands (The tú Form)
When you are talking to one friend, a classmate, a family member, or a pet, you use the informal singular command (the tú form).
The Golden Rule for Regular Verbs
To tell one friend to do something, there is a super easy shortcut: use the exact same form as the he/she (él / ella) form of the present tense (or take the tú form of the present tense and drop the final -s)!
For -AR Verbs: Take off the -ar ending and add -a.
• hablar (to speak) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Habla! (Speak!)
• escuchar (to listen) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Escucha! (Listen!)
• girar (to turn) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Gira! (Turn!)
• tomar (to take) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Toma! (Take!)
For -ER Verbs: Take off the -er ending and add -e.
• comer (to eat) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Come! (Eat!)
• leer (to read) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Lee! (Read!)
• beber (to drink) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Bebe! (Drink!)
For -IR Verbs: Take off the -ir ending and add -e.
• abrir (to open) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Abre! (Open!)
• escribir (to write) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Escribe! (Write!)
• subir (to go up) \( \rightarrow \) ¡Sube! (Go up!)
Key Takeaway: For affirmative tú commands, -ar verbs end in -a, and both -er and -ir verbs end in -e.
3. The 8 Irregular Affirmative tú Commands
A small group of eight very common verbs do not follow the regular pattern. Instead, they have short, punchy forms that you will want to memorise. Think of them as special shortcut words!
• decir (to say / to tell) \( \rightarrow \) di (Say! / Tell!)
• hacer (to do / to make) \( \rightarrow \) haz (Do! / Make!)
• ir (to go) \( \rightarrow \) ve (Go!)
• poner (to put) \( \rightarrow \) pon (Put!)
• salir (to leave / to go out) \( \rightarrow \) sal (Leave! / Go out!)
• ser (to be) \( \rightarrow \) sé (Be!) (Note the written accent on sé to distinguish it from the pronoun "se")
• tener (to have) \( \rightarrow \) ten (Have!)
• venir (to come) \( \rightarrow \) ven (Come!)
Memory Tip: Many of these irregular commands are just one syllable long (di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven). Practise saying them out loud like a rhythm: "Ven, ten, pon, sal, haz, di, ve, sé!"
Key Takeaway: There are only 8 irregular verbs for the affirmative tú imperative. Once you learn these eight, you know all of them!
4. Plural Informal Commands (The vosotros / vosotras Form)
What if you want to tell a group of friends or classmates to do something together? In Spain, you use the vosotros command form.
The Magic Rule for vosotros Commands
This is one of the easiest rules in Spanish grammar: take the infinitive, chop off the final letter -r, and replace it with a -d!
• hablar \( \rightarrow \) drop -r, add -d \( \rightarrow \) ¡Hablad! (Speak, you all!)
• escuchar \( \rightarrow \) drop -r, add -d \( \rightarrow \) ¡Escuchad! (Listen, you all!)
• comer \( \rightarrow \) drop -r, add -d \( \rightarrow \) ¡Comed! (Eat, you all!)
• escribir \( \rightarrow \) drop -r, add -d \( \rightarrow \) ¡Escribid! (Write, you all!)
Did you know? There are zero irregular verbs for this rule in standard Spanish! Even irregular verbs follow the exact same rule: ir \( \rightarrow \) id (Go!), hacer \( \rightarrow \) haced (Do!).
Key Takeaway: For group commands to friends (vosotros), simply swap the final -r of the infinitive for a -d.
5. Other Forms at KS3: Formal & Negative Commands (Receptive Overview)
While the informal positive commands are the main ones you will use to speak and write, you will also recognise these other command forms when reading or listening:
Formal Commands (usted / ustedes)
Used when speaking politely to adults, strangers, or in very formal settings. These switch to the "opposite vowel":
• -ar verbs take -e (or -en for plural): hable / hablen (Please speak)
• -er / -ir verbs take -a (or -an for plural): coma / coman (Please eat)
Negative Commands ("Don't do it!")
When telling someone not to do something, Spanish puts No in front and uses the subjunctive vowel endings:
• ¡No hables! (Don't speak!)
• ¡No comas! (Don't eat!)
Key Takeaway: Formal and negative commands swap vowels, whereas standard informal positive commands keep their standard present tense vowel!
6. Common Pitfalls and Mistakes to Avoid
Pitfall 1: Leaving the "-s" on the end.
In the present tense, tú forms end in -s (e.g. tú escuchas = you listen). But for a command, you must drop the -s!
• Incorrect: ¡Escuchas!
• Correct: ¡Escucha! (Listen!)
Pitfall 2: Using the unconjugated infinitive.
In English, the command looks just like the base verb ("Eat!", "Read!"). In Spanish, you must conjugate the verb.
• Incorrect: ¡Comer la fruta!
• Correct: ¡Come la fruta! (Eat the fruit!)
Pitfall 3: Mixing up the irregular forms.
Be careful with single-syllable commands like haz (from hacer) and ve (from ir). Writing hace instead of haz is a very common slip-up.
7. Quick Review Checklist
Before moving on, test yourself with this quick summary checklist:
• tú (informal singular): Drop -ar \( \rightarrow \) add -a | Drop -er/-ir \( \rightarrow \) add -e.
• 8 Irregulars (tú): di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.
• vosotros (informal plural): Drop the final -r of the infinitive and replace it with -d (¡hablad!, ¡comed!, ¡escribid!).
• Punctuation tip: In Spanish, commands are often written between inverted and standard exclamation marks: ¡ ... !