Tú commands

Explanation A command is an order: “Shut up,” “Sit down,” “Bring me some chocolate,” etc. What you’re learning here is how to tell a friend (i.e., someone with whom you would use “tú”) to shut up, sit down, and bring you some chocolate.

AFFIRMATIVE Commands Here’s how you form affirmative tú commands: Conjugate the verb in the regular present tense:  hablar  hablas  comer  comes  volver  vuelves Now, take off the s:  habla  come  vuelve And there you have the tú affirmative command.

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on your paper, click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one. entender  ? Answer: entiende leer  ? Answer: lee traer  ? Answer: trae cerrar  ? Answer: cierra

Irregular verbs Did you really, really think it would be that simple? Sorry. There are always irregular verbs. But you don’t have many. And there aren’t a bunch of endings to learn like there are with the preterite, because you’re dealing with only one person—tú. And heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeee they are: decir  divenir  ven salir  salir  ve hacer  hazser  sé poner  pontener  ten

These verbs are irregular only in the affirmative! Not in the negative!!!! You’re about to be introduced to the formation of negative verbs, and they have their OWN irregularities! You absolutely cannot say, “No sal ahora”! That’s wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pronoun Position Do you remember where you put object pronouns with AFFIRMATIVE Ud. commands? Well, that’s where you put them with AFFIRMATIVE tú commands: on the end of the command. Cómelo. Háblame. Dime la verdad.

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on your paper, click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one. ganarlo Answer: gánalo hablarme Answer: háblame creerla Answer: créela pedírmelo Answer: pídemelo

Meaning Habla ahora. = “Talk now.” Come ahora. = “Eat now.” Vuelve ahora. = “Return now.” So if I tell you to write a sentence using a command, you can’t write, for example, “Come ayer.” Duh. That would mean, “Eat yesterday.”

NEGATIVE Commands The BAD news: Negative tú commands are totally different from affirmative. Sorry. Nobody asked me what I thought about doing it this way. The GOOD news: Remember Ud. commands? Well, negative tú commands are EXACTLY like Ud. commands, except that they have an s on them. More bad news: If you didn’t learn the Ud. commands when you were supposed to, guess what.

Sooo... Go to the first person singular of a verb Traer  no traigo Pensar  no pienso  And drop the o Traigo  no traig_ Pensar  no piens_  And then add the opposite ending (-as for –er and –ir verbs, -es for –ar verbs) Traig_  NO traigas Piens_  NO pienses DON’T FORGET THE S!

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on your paper, click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one. NO traer Answer: no traigas NO pensar Answer: no pienses NO salir Answer: no salgas NO dormir Answer: no duermas

Can you guess which verbs will be irregular when they’re negative? Remember that they’re NOT the same verbs that are irregular in the present. Take a second and think about it. If you really think about how you’re forming the negative command, the five (hint) irregular verbs will make sense to you.

Irregular negative tú commands  The five irregular commands are the following: ser  no seas saber  no sepas ir  no vayas estar  no estés dar  no des Do they look familiar? These are the five irregular Ud. commands. The ONLY difference between Ud. commands and negative tú commands is that the negative tú commands have an s.

Pronoun Position One last step: remember that, just like you did with Ud. commands, you have to put the object pronoun BEFORE a negative command. No lo hagas. No me ayudes.

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on your paper, click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one. NO traerlo Answer: no lo traigas NO perderlas Answer: no las pierdas NO cerrarlo Answer: No lo cierres NO ponerlos Answer: No los pongas NO leérmelo Answer: no me lo leas

OK, here it all is in a nutshell: 1. Affirmative commands: A. Conjugate the verb as a regular present tense verb and take off the s. comes  come hablas  habla B. Learn the eight irregular verbs: decir  divenir  ven salir  salir  ve hacer  hazser  sé poner  pontener  ten C. Put pronouns on the end of affirmative commands: Cómelo. Hazlo. 2. Negative commands: A. Drop the o off the first person singular and add the opposite ending, including an s: digo  no digas cierro  no cierres B. Memorize the five irregular negative commands: ser  no seas saber  no sepas ir  no vayas estar  no estés dar  no des C. Put pronouns in front of negative commands: No lo digas. No me lo des.

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