Spanish Commands

How do I tell someone what to do in Spanish? ¿?

In English, it’s easy to give a command to someone. Stand up! Sit down! Do your homework! Clean your room!

We simply use the base verb form without the subject. (With commands, the subject is always an understood “you.”) Be careful. Drive slowly. Don’t touch that! Hurry up.

In Spanish, commands are slightly more challenging because there are so many ways to say “You” Tú – you familiar, singular Usted – you formal, singular Vosotros – you familiar, plural Ustedes – you formal, plural

Tú: “you”, familiar, singular We will look at all four versions of Spanish Commands. First, we’ll begin with Tú: “you”, familiar, singular More specifically, we will look at positive tú commands telling someone what to do (as opposed to negative, what not to do.)

Positive Tú Commands: Positive tú commands are the easiest of all the commands to learn. You’ve actually already learned them! Positive tú commands are formed by saying the 3rd person singular of the verb to the person of whom you are giving the command.

¿? Positive Tú Commands: Let’s try it with Comer That’s right. Even though our subject is “tú” when giving a command, we use the 3rd person singular of the verb to address our peers or subordinates. ¿? Let’s try it with Comer

Comer - to eat Positive Tú Commands: como comemos comes coméis come comen

Positive Tú Commands: is the 3rd person singular of the verb. como comemos comes coméis come comen come is the 3rd person singular of the verb. We will now use come as a command in our sentence.

Positive Tú Commands: Come tu cena. Eat your dinner. ¡Come más rápida! Eat faster!

Positive Tú Commands: [Tú] Come las verduras. It is understood that the person to whom you are speaking is the subject of the sentence. Therefore, it is not necessary to begin the sentence with “Tú.” [Tú] Come las verduras.

El Vocabulario: Barrer el piso - To sweep the floor Cortar el césped - To cut the grass Hacer la limpieza - To do the cleaning Lavar los platos - To wash the dishes

El Vocabulario: Limpiar el cuarto - To clean the room Pasar la aspiradora - To vacuum Planchar - To iron Quitar el polvo - To dust Sacar la basura - To take out the trash

“Pasa la aspiradora, por favor.” What is the command for “Vacuum the floor, please.” “Pasa la aspiradora, por favor.”

“Corta el césped, por favor.” What is the command for “Cut the grass, please.” “Corta el césped, por favor.”

“Plancha la ropa, por favor.” What is the command for “Iron the clothes, please.” “Plancha la ropa, por favor.”

“Saca la basura, por favor.” What is the command for “Take out the trash, please.” “Saca la basura, por favor.”

“Lava los platos, por favor.” What is the command for “Wash the dishes, please.” “Lava los platos, por favor.”

Some irregulars: Decir - Di Ser - Sé Poner - Pon Ir - Ve Salir - Sal There are few irregular verbs that do not take on the 3rd person singular of the verb. They are: Decir - Di Poner - Pon Salir - Sal Tener - Ten Venir - Ven Ser - Sé Ir - Ve Hacer - Haz

Decir – To tell (+) Tú Command: Di Di la verdad. -Tell the truth.

Salir – To leave (+) Tú Command: Sal Sal a las diez. -Leave at 10:00.

Poner – To put/place (+) Tú Command: Pon Pon la mesa. -Set the table.

Pronoun Placement Rules

Pronoun Placement Rules For Commands: Pronouns: me, te, nos, os, lo/la, los/las, le, les, se #1 – Affirmative Commands – After & Attached to the verb #2 – Negative Commands – Before the verb

Now conjugate the Positive Tú Command Levantar: Let’s try LEVANTARSE Since our subject is understood to be “tú” our Reflexive Pronoun will be: te Now conjugate the Positive Tú Command Levantar: levanta

te levanta Let’s try LEVANTARSE / Since our command is affirmative, attached the pronoun to the end of the verb. te Finally, since you added a syllable, add an accent to preserve the pronunciation. / levanta