Chapter 5
Topic 1 Formal Commands
In Spanish,speakers use formal,(usted or ustedes), commands when addressing people to:
Subject Pronoun | -ar | -er | -ir |
---|---|---|---|
usted | e | a | a |
nosotros | emos | amos | amos |
ustedes | en | an | an |
- ask them to do something, and to give advice. Do not forget to add please.
- Formal commands, both affirmative and negative, have the same forms as the third person singular.
SINGULAR |
---|
Hablar Por favor, (no) hable más despacio. Please, (do not) speak slower. |
Comer Por favor, (no) coma la empanada. Please, (do not) eat the turnover. |
Escribir Por favor, (no) escriba en español. Please, (do not) write in Spanish. |
PLURAL |
---|
Hablar Por favor, (no) hablen más despacio. Please, (do not) speak slower. |
Comer Por favor, (no) coman la empanada. Please, (do not) eat the turnover. |
Escribir Por favor, (no) escriban en español. Please, (do not) write in Spanish. |
- To form negative formal commands, add no before the verb.
- The placement of usted or ustedes, after the command, makes it nicer.
Escriba usted la carta. | Escriban ustedes la carta. |
Hable usted con la profesora. | Hablen ustedes con la profesora. |
Cierre usted el libro. | Cierren ustedes el libro. |
Verbs with irregular yo form conjugations, in the present tense, have the same irregular stems for the formal commands.
Infinitive | yo form | formal command |
---|---|---|
decir | digo | diga, digan |
dormir | duermo | duerma, duerman |
hacer | hago | haga, hagan |
leer | leo | lea, lean |
seguir | sigo | siga, sigan |
tener | tengo | tenga, tengan |
Some commonly used irregular commands are:
infinitive | Usted/ustedes |
---|---|
dar | dé/den |
ir | vaya/vayan |
ser | sea/sean |
A nosotros command is when you suggest doing something with a group on which you are a part of, such as “let’s”.
Command | -ar | -er/-ir |
---|---|---|
Nosotros | -emos | -amos |
Estudiemos juntos para el examen.
Let’s study together for the test.
Comamos pizza fría.
Let’s eat cold pizza.
Abramos la puerta lentamente.
Let’s open the door slowly.