The Imperative
I. Intro
The imperative is used to tell someone to do something in a way that is stronger and more direct that making a suggestion. In both English and Spanish, the subject of an imperative sentence, or command, is implied and not explicitly mentioned - for example, “levanta la mano” (raise your hand), or “siéntate por favor” (please sit down). In English, we use the base form of the verb to express a command. In Spanish, we have several distinct imperative verb forms which can be divided into two main categories: informal (tú) and formal (usted). In this lesson, we are going to cover informal commands.
II. Form: Regular tú commands
Tú commands are formed by using the present tense
usted form of most verbs. That means that the verb form for saying “he/she/it does something” is the same for the command “do something!”
Infinitive | Present tense (usted) | Tú command |
hablar | Juan habla español. | ¡Habla español! |
comer | Elisa come la patata. | ¡Come la patata! |
vivir | Usted vive en una casa. | ¡Vive en mi casa! |
III. Form: Irregular tú commands
There are eight irregular tú commands:
ser, poner, tener, salir, venir, ir, decir, and
hacer.