Mandatos informales

Informal Commands To give a command in Spanish, you must first decide whether you wish to use an informal (tú) or formal (usted) command. In this lesson we will focus on informal commands since they are considered to be friendlier. Secondly, you must be aware of whether you are giving a positive or negative command since each has a different conjugation. For example; Catch (positive) = ¡Agarra! Don’t Catch (negative) = ¡No agarres!

Positive Informal Command Positive Informal Commands Conjugating a positive informal command is very easy. The conjugation is the same as the present tense usted form of the verb. (Yes, the tú command uses an usted conjugation!) Here are some examples > Verb Positive Informal Command Tomar ¡Toma! Traer ¡Trae! Hablar ¡Habla! Tirar ¡Tira! Beber ¡Bebe! Vivir ¡Vive!

Irregulars The following verbs have irregular command forms: Verb Positive Form To put Pon To come Ven To go Ve To be Sé To have Ten To do, to make Haz To leave Sal To say, to tell Di

Negative Informal Commands Conjugating a negative informal command is a little more complicated. Here are the steps; Conjugate the verb in the present tense yo form. Remove the “o”. Add “es” to –AR verbs or “as” to –ER & -IR verbs.

Negative Informal Command Here are some examples; Verb Yo form minus the “O” Negative Informal Command Tomar Tom- ¡No tomes! Traer Traig- ¡No traigas! Hablar Habl- ¡No hables! Contar Cuent- ¡No cuentes! Beber Beb- ¡No bebas! Conocer Conozc- ¡No conozcas! Notice that any stem changes or spelling changes in the yo form remain in the command form.

Irregulars The following verbs have irregular command forms: Verb Positive Form Negative Form To put Pon No pongas (regular) To come Ven No vengas (regular) To go Ve No vayas To be Sé No seas To have Ten No tengas (regular) To do, to make Haz No hagas (regular) To leave Sal No salgas (regular) To say, to tell Di No digas (regular)

Now you try it! On a piece of paper, or in your head, conjugate the following and then click for the correct answer. Note: do not use tú when giving a command. Ask! (Preguntar) Study! (Estudiar) Run! (Correr) Write! (Escribir) ¡Pregunta! ¡Estudia! ¡Corre! ¡Escribe!

Good, now try some negatives! Don’t ask! (Preguntar) Don’t run! (Correr) Don’t return! (Volver o>ue) Don’t come! (Venir) ¡No preguntes! ¡No corras! ¡No vuelvas! ¡No vengas!

Fin