Usually mistaken with the subjunctive, the imperative mood is mostly used to give direct commands. The imperative mood is also used sometimes to ask for something, to demand something, give instructions or offer something.

Keep always in mind that in the imperative mood, there's no first person singular (yo) and the first person plural (nosotros) is sometimes removed from the conjugation.

Conjugation

Here are four tips to remember the conjugation of the imperative mood.

1. For the "tú" form (second person singular) use the "él/ella/usted" form (third person singular) of the present simple indicative for any group of verbs (-AR, -ER, or -IR)

	Present Indicative	Imperative
Yo	como	-
Tú	comes	come
Él/Ella/Usted	come	coma
Nosotros	comemos	comamos
Vosotros	coméis	comed
Ellos/Ustedes	comen	coman

Examples:

Corre (tú) más despacio o te cansarás muy rápidamente.
Run slower or you will get tired really quickly.

Salta (tú) más alto para alcanzar esa rama del árbol.
Jump higher to reach that tree limb.

2. For the "Él/Ella/Usted" (third person singular) and "Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes" (third person plural) form change the last vowel of the present simple as follows:

Verbs ending in -AR: change -a for -e
Verbs ending in -ER and -IR: change -e for -a

	Present Indicative	Imperative
Yo	canto	-
Tú	cantas	canta
Él/Ella/Usted	canta	cante
Nosotros	cantamos	cantemos
Vosotros	cantáis	cantad
Ellos/Ustedes	cantan	canten

	Present Indicative	Imperative
Yo	como	-
Tú	comes	come
Él/Ella/Usted	come	coma
Nosotros	comemos	comamos
Vosotros	coméis	comed
Ellos/Ustedes	comen	coman

	Present Indicative	Imperative
Yo	vivo	-
Tú	vives	vive
Él/Ella/Usted	vive	viva
Nosotros	vivimos	vivamos
Vosotros	vivís	vivid
Ellos/Ustedes	viven	vivan

Examples:

Canten (ustedes) una canción para todos nosotros.
Sing a song for all of us.

Diles a tus amigos que coman (ellos) más comida o tendré que tirarla.
Tell your friends to eat more food or I'll have to throw it away.

3. For the "nosotros" (first person plural) form, take the same person from the present subjunctive.

	Present Subjunctive	Imperative
Yo	hable	-
Tú	hables	habla
Él/Ella/Usted	hable	hable
Nosotros	hablemos	hablemos
Vosotros	habléis	hablad
Ellos/Ustedes	hablen	hablen

Examples:

Hablemos (nosotros) con los profesores antes de que hablen nuestros padres.
Let's talk with the teachers before our parents do so.

Compremos el nuevo ordenador antes de que se agote en las tiendas.
Let's buy the new omputer before it's sold out in the stores.

4. For the "vosotros" (second person plural) form change the last "-r" in the infinitive for a "-d"

Cantar	-->	Vosotros	cantad
Comer	-->	Vosotros	comed
Vivir	-->	Vosotros	vivid

Examples:

Cantad más alto para que el público de la última fila pueda escucharos.
Sing louder so the audience in the last row can hear you.

Comed más verduras ya que es bueno para vuestra salud.
Eat more vegetables because it's good for your health.

Vivid la vida como si no hubiera mañana.
Live your life as if there was no tomorrow.