Spanish commands: how to give an instruction
You will learn how to give affirmative instructions in Spanish, both informally and formally. This matters in everyday situations, asking someone to do something, guiding them, or giving quick directions. You will also learn how object pronouns attach to the imperative, which is where written accents often show up.
The rule
The affirmative imperative is used to tell someone what to do. In Spanish, the forms do not all come from one single pattern, so it is much easier if you learn them by person.
1) Tú. For most verbs, the tú affirmative imperative uses the él or ella form of the present indicative. That is why the forms look familiar, for example habla, come, escribe. You normally do not include the subject pronoun, so you say Habla, not Tú habla.
At a glance
Affirmative tú imperative, regular verbs
| Infinitivo | Forma (tú) |
|---|---|
| hablar | habla |
| comer | come |
| escribir | escribe |
Heard in real Spanish
Native speakers on YouTube, in videos about something other than grammar. The notion is in pink. Each clip starts a second before the line.
Mira, mi amor, nosotros que queremos un carro.
Look, my love, we who want a car.
¿CUÁNTA ROPA PUEDES COMPRAR CON €10 EN UN MERCADILLO DE ESPAÑA? 🇪🇸 by Demi y Julian · Watch on YouTube
No nos deje, no me des la espalda, por favor.
Don't leave us, don't turn your back on me, please.
Las mejores interacciones #13 | Lo Que Salga by Edo Caroe · Watch on YouTube
Examples
- Oye, mira esto, por favor.Hey, look at this, please.Oye and mira are tú imperatives often used to get someone’s attention.
- Di la verdad.Tell the truth.Di is one of the eight short irregular tú imperatives.
- Haz la cama, por favor.Make the bed, please.Haz is the tú imperative from hacer, very common.
What to remember
- For tú, the regular imperative matches the él or ella present form: habla, come, escribe.
- Memorize the 8 short irregular tú forms: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.
- Vosotros is formed with -d and is mainly used in Spain: hablad, comed, venid.
- Usted and ustedes use forms like hable, coma, hablen, coman.
- In the affirmative imperative, pronouns attach at the end and an accent may appear: dime, dámelo, siéntate.
Check yourself
1 Complete with the correct imperative form (tú).
___ más despacio, por favor.
- Habla
- Hable
- Hablad
- Hablas
Show the answer
Habla. For tú, the regular imperative matches the él or ella present form: habla.
2 Choose the correct tú imperative of poner.
- pon
- pones
- ponga
- poned
Show the answer
pon. Pon is the short irregular tú imperative of poner.
Take the full lesson
“Giving an instruction” in the Streal course: the whole explanation, the quiz, and every YouTube extract picked for it. Free to start, nothing to install. The full lesson goes on with the rest of the explanation and more examples, the common mistakes and the practice quiz.