1. Mandatos Informales (Informal Commands)
WALK!
SLEEP!
EAT!

2. In Spanish…
When we want to tell a friend to do something we use informal (tú) commands…
¡Come! – EAT!
¡Camina!- WALK!
¡Duerme!- SLEEP!
Do these endings look somewhat familiar?

3. Positive Commands
Commands that are used to tell someone what to do are positive.
They are formed by dropping the –s from the ending of the presente tú form.
This means that you will be using either –a (for verbs ending in –ar) or –e (for verbs ending in –er or –ir) for your endings of positive commands.

4. Positive Commands Here are examples of what it looks like.
STATEMENT COMMAND
(tú) caminas ¡Camina! Walk!
(tú) comes ¡Come! Eat!
(tú) duermes ¡Duerme! Sleep!

5. A positive command example for an –ir ending verb…
Open the window!
Verb Abrir (to open)
Put it in the tú present tense form = tú abres
Drop the –s = abre
¡Abre la ventana!

6. A positive command example for an –ar ending verb…
Speak now!
Verb hablar (to speak)
Put hablar in the tú present tense form= hablas
Drop the –s = habla
¡Habla ahora!

7. A positive command example for an –er ending verb…
Drink water!
Verb beber (to drink)
Put beber in the tú present tense form= bebes
Drop the –s = bebe
¡Bebe agua!

8. What about reflexive verbs?
The reflexive pronoun you will use is TE.
With positive commands, the reflexive pronoun is attached to the end of the command.
Levanta + te = Levántate
Sienta + te = Siéntate
*Note the accent is added to the third vowel from the end. This is required in writing these.

9. A-Te toca a tí (your turn)…
Eat more fruit! ¡----- más frutas!
Sleep 8 hours a day horas al día.
Study in the library everyday.
----- en la biblioteca todos los días.

10. B-Te toca a tí (your turn)…
Take a bath now!! ¡¡---- ahora!!
Go up I I-75.
Please, marry me!
¡Por favor, conmigo!

11. Negative Commands
Commands that are used to tell someone what NOT to do are negative.
You will always write, hear or say NO before the negative command.
The command is formed by switching the positive command endings to the opposite vowel and adding –s.
This means that the –a ending is switched to –es and the –e ending is switched to –as.

12. Negative Commands Here are examples of what it looks like.
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
fuma ¡No fumes! Don’t smoke!
corre ¡No corras! Don’t run!
duerme ¡No duermas! Don’t sleep!

13. A negative command example for an –ar ending verb…
Don’t buy pizza!
Verb comprar (to buy, to purchase)
Put comprar in positive command form= compra
Change the –a to –es= compres
¡No compres la pizza!

14. A negative command example for an –ir ending verb…
Don’t open the door!
Verb abrir (to open)
Put abrir in the positive command form= abre
Change the –e to –as= abras
¡No abras la puerta!

15. A negative command example for an –er ending verb…
Don’t drink soda!
Verb beber (to drink)
Put beber in the positive command form= bebe
Change the –e to –as= bebas
¡No bebas los refrescos!

16. What about reflexive verbs?
The reflexive pronoun you will use is TE.
In negative commands, NO & TE precede the verb.
Te + levanta =No te levantes.
Te + sienta = No te sientes.

17. C-Te toca a tí (your turn)…
Don’t run in the house!
¡No en casa!
Don’t open the book!
¡No el libro!

18. D-Te toca a tí (your turn)…
Don’t read ahead of me!
¡No adelante de mí!
Don’t sleep here please.
No aquí por favor.

19. Los irregulares Some verbs are changed in the stem for commands.
Because of these stem changes they are irregular.
If they are irregular in the formal form they will be in the informal form too.
You have learned about these stem-change (boot) verbs previously.

20. Irregulars you need to know…
verb positive negative
hacer (to do) haz hagas
tener (to have) ten tengas
salir (to leave) sal salgas
ser (to be) sé seas
estar (to be) está estés
dar (to give) da des
saber(to know) sabe sepas
ir (to go) ve vayas
poner(to put) pon pongas
venir (to come) ven vengas
decir (to say) di digas

21. Verbs with spelling changes…
There are several verbs that change spelling when made into negative commands to keep their sound…
1. Verbs ending in –gar like Jugar- ¡No juegues!
- g changes to gue to keep the hard g sound
2. Verbs ending in –car like Practicar - ¡No practiques!
-c changes to a que to keep the hard k sound
3. Verbs ending in –zar like Empezar-
¡No empieces!
- z changes to ces to keep the soft z sound

22. Examples of negative commands with needed changes…
Don’t arrive late! ¡No llegues tarde!
-Verb llegar in positive form = llega
-Change –a to –es and apply the spelling change = llegues
Don’t touch the piano! ¡No toques el piano!
-Verb tocar in positive form = toca
-Change –a to –es and apply the spelling
change = toques

23. Examples of negative commands with needed changes…
Don’t eat lunch now! ¡No almuerces ahora!
-Verb almorzar in positive form = almuerza
-Change –a to –es and remember the spelling change= almuerces
Don’t start the homework! ¡No comiences la tarea!
- Verb comenzar in positive form = comienza
- Change –a to –es and remember the spelling change= comiences

24. E-Te toca a tí (your turn)…
Don’t start ahead of me!
¡No adelante de mí!
Don’t pay here please.
No aquí por favor.