Chapter 5
Topic 2 Informal Commands
In Spanish, speakers use informal, (tú), commands when addressing people, they know very well to:
| Subject pronoun | -ar | -er | -ir |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tú (Affirmative) | a | e | e |
| Tú (Negative) | es | as | as |
- do, or not to do, and to give advice. Do not forget to add please.
- Affirmative tú commands have the same form as the 3rd PS (ud./él/ella) form of the present indicative.
Affirmative tú commands have different forms than negative tú commands.
| Command | AFFIRMATIVE | NEGATIVE |
|---|---|---|
| Hablar | Por favor, habla más despacio. | Hablar Por favor, no hables más despacio. Please, do not speak slower. |
| Comer | Por favor, come temprano. | Comer Por favor, no comas temprano. Please, do not eat early. |
| Escribir | Por favor, escribe en español. | Escribir Por favor, no escribas en español. Please, do not write in Spanish. |
- To form negative formal commands, add no before the verb.
- There are ONLY eight irregular affirmative tú commands.
| decir Di tu nobre. | salir Sal a caminar. |
| hacer Haz la cama. | ser Sé generoso |
| ir Ve a la tienda. | tener Ten paciencia. |
| Poner Pon la mesa. | Venir Ven conmigo. |
Verbs with irregular yo form conjugations, in the present tense, have the same irregular stems fin in the negative tú informal commands.
| infinitive | yo form | negative tú command |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tengo | no tengas |
| hacer | hago | no hagas |
| dormir | duermo | no duermas |
| decir | digo | no digas |
Some commonly used irregular commands are:
| infinitive | negative tú command |
|---|---|
| dar | no des |
| ir | no vayas |
| ser | no seas |
