The rule, in plain English
Commands have forms for tú, usted, nosotros/as, vosotros/as and ustedes; there is no ordinary direct imperative for yo, él/ella or ellos/ellas. A regular affirmative tú command uses the third-person singular present indicative (habla, come, vive), while a negative tú command uses no + present subjunctive (no hables). Usted, nosotros/as and ustedes use present-subjunctive forms in both affirmative and negative commands. An affirmative vosotros/as command normally replaces the infinitive -r with -d (hablad); its negative uses the subjunctive (no habléis). Attach object and reflexive pronouns to affirmative commands, but place them before negative commands.
Why it's hard for English speakers
English uses the unchanged verb for nearly every command. Spanish changes the form according to who is addressed and whether the command is affirmative or negative; pronouns also move position and may require a written accent.
Regular affirmative and negative commands
| Subject | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | N/A — no yo command | N/A — no yo command | N/A — no yo command |
| Tú | habla / no hables | come / no comas | vive / no vivas |
| Él/Ella | N/A — not directly addressed | N/A — not directly addressed | N/A — not directly addressed |
| Usted | hable / no hable | coma / no coma | viva / no viva |
| Nosotros/as | hablemos / no hablemos | comamos / no comamos | vivamos / no vivamos |
| Vosotros/as | hablad / no habléis | comed / no comáis | vivid / no viváis |
| Ellos/Ellas | N/A — not directly addressed | N/A — not directly addressed | N/A — not directly addressed |
| Ustedes | hablen / no hablen | coman / no coman | vivan / no vivan |
Common irregular commands
| Subject / form | decir | hacer | ir | poner | salir | ser | tener | venir |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tú affirmative | di | haz | ve | pon | sal | sé | ten | ven |
| Tú negative | no digas | no hagas | no vayas | no pongas | no salgas | no seas | no tengas | no vengas |
| Usted | diga | haga | vaya | ponga | salga | sea | tenga | venga |
| Nosotros/as | digamos | hagamos | vayamos | pongamos | salgamos | seamos | tengamos | vengamos |
| Vosotros/as | decid | haced | id | poned | salid | sed | tened | venid |
| Ustedes | digan | hagan | vayan | pongan | salgan | sean | tengan | vengan |
Pronoun position with commands
| Command | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| affirmative | attach pronoun(s) to the end | Dime. / Cómpralo. |
| negative | put pronoun(s) before the verb | No me digas. / No lo compres. |
| affirmative + extra syllables | add an accent if needed to preserve stress | Siéntate. / Escríbemelo. |
| negative reflexive | no + reflexive pronoun + verb | No te levantes. |
Example sentence bank
Shuffling examples…
Common mistakes
- ¡No hablas tan rápido!¡No hables tan rápido!A negative tú command uses the present subjunctive.
- ¡Haces los deberes!¡Haz los deberes!Haz is the irregular affirmative tú command of hacer.
- ¡Te sienta!¡Siéntate!Attach the reflexive pronoun to an affirmative command and preserve the stress with an accent.
- ¡No levántate!¡No te levantes!Put the reflexive pronoun before a negative command.
Practice
Speak! (tú) = ¡___!
Don't speak! = ¡No ___!
Come here! (tú) = ¡___ aquí!
Eat! (tú) = ¡___!
Write! (tú, escribir) = ¡___!
Don't eat that! (tú) = ¡No ___ eso!
Do it! (tú, hacer) = ¡___!
Speak more slowly, please. (usted)