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Spanish 2 Unit 7: Commands (Affirmative and Negative)

This unit teaches you to give commands and instructions to friends, adults and groups, both telling people what to do and what not to do.

Covers: Regular affirmative tú commands, Irregular affirmative tú commands, Negative tú commands, Usted and ustedes commands, Nosotros commands (let's), Spelling changes -car, -gar, -zar, Pronoun placement and accents in commands

Study guide

Affirmative tú commands, used with friends, family and children, are the easiest. For regular verbs, use the él/ella form of the present tense: habla, come, escribe. Stem changes stay: cierra, vuelve, pide. Eight common verbs have irregular affirmative tú commands, and they are worth memorizing as a group: di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener) and ven (venir). A popular memory trick is the phrase Vin Diesel has ten weapons: ven, di, sal, haz, ten, ve, pon, sé. Note that sé (be) carries an accent to distinguish it from the pronoun se.

Every other command uses the opposite-vowel forms, which are the present subjunctive. To build one, take the yo form of the present, drop the -o, and add the opposite vowel: -ar verbs get e endings, and -er and -ir verbs get a endings. Negative tú adds -es or -as: no hables, no comas, no escribas. Usted, ustedes and nosotros commands use the same stems: hable, hablen, hablemos; coma, coman, comamos. Because the stem comes from the yo form, irregular yo forms carry over: tengo → no tengas, hago → haga, salgo → salgamos. Five verbs are irregular here: dar (dé), estar (esté), ir (vaya), ser (sea) and saber (sepa).

Verbs ending in -car, -gar and -zar need spelling changes in all opposite-vowel forms to keep their sounds: tocar → no toques, toque; llegar → no llegues, lleguen; empezar → no empieces, empiecen. These are the same changes you saw in the yo preterite. Nosotros commands mean let's: hablemos (let's talk), comamos (let's eat). The verb ir is special: vamos means let's go, while no vayamos means let's not go. With ustedes commands, you address a group, and in most of Latin America this covers friends as well as strangers.

Pronoun placement depends on whether the command is affirmative or negative. In affirmative commands, reflexive, indirect and direct pronouns attach to the end of the verb, in the order reflexive or indirect first, then direct: dímelo, levántate, tráigamela. When attaching adds syllables, write an accent on the originally stressed vowel: levanta → levántate. In negative commands, the pronouns go before the verb, after no: no me lo digas, no te levantes. Le and les still become se: dáselo, no se lo des. In nosotros commands, drop the final -s before nos or se: sentémonos, digámoselo.

Key ideas

• Regular affirmative tú commands use the él/ella present form.
• Eight verbs have irregular tú commands: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.
• All other commands use opposite-vowel forms built on the yo stem.
• Dar, estar, ir, ser and saber are irregular in formal and negative commands.
• -car, -gar and -zar verbs need spelling changes before e.
• Pronouns attach to affirmative commands and go before negative ones.
• Nosotros commands drop the final -s before nos or se.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Using the tú statement form as a negative command, as in no hablas.
• Attaching pronouns to negative commands, as in no dímelo.
• Forgetting spelling changes, as in no tocas or no llegas.
• Forgetting the accent when attaching pronouns, as in levantate.
• Mixing tú and usted commands in the same instructions to one person.

Before the test, make sure you can

• Form regular and irregular affirmative tú commands.
• Form negative tú commands from the yo stem.
• Form usted, ustedes and nosotros commands, including irregulars.
• Apply spelling changes for -car, -gar and -zar verbs.
• Attach pronouns to affirmative commands with correct accents.
• Place pronouns before negative commands.
• Choose tú or usted commands for the right audience.

Words to know

abrir

to open

cerrar

to close

escuchar

to listen

repetir

to repeat

sentarse

to sit down

levantar la mano

to raise one's hand

entregar

to hand in

poner la mesa

to set the table

sacar la basura

to take out the trash

lavar los platos

to wash the dishes

hacer la cama

to make the bed

barrer

to sweep

limpiar

to clean

doblar

to turn

seguir derecho

to go straight

cruzar

to cross

a la derecha

to the right

a la izquierda

to the left

la esquina

corner

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.