Master the Art of Giving Orders: A Guide to Spanish Commands

 

What are Commands?

The command form is used to tell someone to do or not to do something. It is a unique grammatical mood that only exists in the immediate present tense.

Commands are split into two categories:

• ✅ Affirmative Commands: Used to tell someone to do something (e.g., "Turn here" or "Follow the directions").

• ❌ Negative Commands: Used to tell someone not to do something (e.g., "Don't scream" or "Don't drink the water").

💡 The Subjunctive Cheat Code: Here is some fantastic news! Except for the affirmative tú command, every single Spanish command form is identical to the present subjunctive. If you already know your subjunctive conjugations, you already know 90% of Spanish commands!

Why Do We Need the Imperative Mood?

While there are softer, more polite ways to ask people to do things, the command form is absolutely necessary in many real-world situations.

🗺️ Giving Directions

When navigating a city, you need to give precise instructions:

• Go straight ahead, and then turn to the right.

• Follow the red line.

• Walk in the direction of the traffic.

⚠️ Urgent Warnings & Quick Instructions

Sometimes you need to stop someone from doing something dangerous, and you don't have time for a long sentence:

• Don't touch the light socket!

• Don't jump in the water—there are sharks!

• Don't move!

• Don't worry.

Affirmative tú Commands

Let's look at how to form casual, friendly commands (the tú form).

To give an affirmative command to a friend, family member, or peer, simply use the third-person singular form of the present indicative (the él/ella/Ud. form of the regular present tense). If that form is irregular or has a stem change in the present tense, it will keep that exact same change in the command form.

1. -Ar Verbs

• Regular in the present:

  • Baila. (Dance.)

  • Canta. (Sing.)

  • Mira. (Look.)

  • Escucha. (Listen.)

• Irregular/Stem-changing in the present:

  • Empieza. (Begin.)

  • Piensa. (Think.)

2. -Er and -Ir Verbs

• Regular in the present:

  • Come. (Eat.)

  • Bebe. (Drink.)

  • Lee. (Read.)

  • Escribe. (Write.)

  • Decide. (Decide.)

• Irregular/Stem-changing in the present:

  • Duerme. (Sleep.)

  • Sonríe. (Smile.)

Irregular tú Commands

Naturally, there are a few rebels! The following list contains the only eight irregular verbs in the affirmative tú command form. Because these are so common, it is a great idea to memorize them right away:

Infinitive Verb PDF	tú Command PDF	English Meaning PDF
decir	di	say / tell
hacer	haz	do / make
ir	ve	go
poner	pon	put / place
salir	sal	leave / go out
ser	sé	be
tener	ten	have
venir	ven	come

Let's See Them in Action!

• Haz tus ejercicios, por favor. (Do your exercises, please.)

• Ven acá. (Come here.)

• Pon tus zapatos en el armario. (Put your shoes in the closet.)

• Ten cuidado. (Be careful.)

📌 Grammar Tip: Worried about sounding too harsh or bossy? You can easily soften any command form simply by adding "por favor" (please) to the end of your sentence!

In our next lesson, we will jump into Negative tú commands and Formal (Ud.) commands to see how that subjunctive connection comes into play.

Practice in the comments: Pick one of your favorite Spanish verbs from "366.pdf" or "378.pdf" and write its affirmative tú command form below!