The Animated Book
of SpanishGrammar Reference

Spanish Commands (The Imperative)

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

Commands (the imperative, el imperativo) are the verb forms for telling someone to do something: ¡Habla! means “Speak!” Spanish has different forms depending on who you're talking to, and on whether the command is affirmative or negative.
Commands of hablar (to speak) for tú, usted, vosotros, and ustedes, affirmative and negative. Shaded forms are the same as the present subjunctive.
PersonAffirmativeNegative
túyou, informalhablano hables
ustedyou, formalhableno hable
vosotrosyou all, informal (Spain)habladno habléis
ustedesyou allhablenno hablen

Shaded forms are the same as the present subjunctive.

On this page

Most commands are the subjunctive

Look at the shaded forms in the table above. Commands for usted and ustedes, and every negative command, are exactly the same as the present subjunctive. A command is really just the second half of quiero que…, said directly.

  1. Subjunctive
    Quiero que hable más despacio.

    I want you to speak more slowly.

    Command
    Hable más despacio.

    Speak more slowly.

  2. Subjunctive
    Espero que no lleguen tarde.

    I hope you all won’t be late.

    Command
    No lleguen tarde.

    Don’t be late.

  3. Subjunctive
    Te pido que no toques nada.

    I’m asking you not to touch anything.

    Command
    No toques nada.

    Don’t touch anything.

So if you know the subjunctive, you already know most commands. There are only two new forms to learn: affirmative tú commands (which look like the present tense) and affirmative vosotros commands.

Affirmative tú commands

To tell a friend to do something, use the él form of the present tense. Stem changes come along with it.

Affirmative tú commands are the same as the present-tense él form
VerbPresent (él)Command (tú)
hablarhablahabla
comercomecome
escribirescribeescribe
cerrarcierracierra
dormirduermeduerme
pedirpidepide

  • Cierra la puerta, por favor.

    Close the door, please.

  • Come más despacio.

    Eat more slowly.

  • Pide lo que quieras.

    Order whatever you want.

Eight common verbs have a short, irregular tú command instead:

  • decir becomes dito say, tell, say, tell
  • hacer becomes hazto do, make, do, make
  • ir becomes veto go, go
  • poner becomes ponto put, put
  • salir becomes salto leave, leave
  • ser becomes séto be, be
  • tener becomes tento have, have
  • venir becomes vento come, come

  • Ven aquí un momento.

    Come here for a second.

  • Haz la tarea antes de cenar.

    Do your homework before dinner.

  • Ten cuidado con el perro.

    Be careful with the dog.

  • Pon la mesa, por favor.

    Set the table, please.

  • Di la verdad.

    Tell the truth.

Usted and ustedes commands

Commands for usted and ustedes are identical to the subjunctive. That means the same yo-form rule and the same irregular verbs.

Usted and ustedes commands are the present subjunctive
VerbUsted CommandUstedes Command
hablarhablehablen
comercomacoman
tenertengatengan
hacerhagahagan
irvayavayan
serseasean

  • Pase, por favor.

    Come in, please.

  • Tenga cuidado con el escalón.

    Watch the step.

  • Sigan todo recto y giren a la derecha.

    Go straight ahead and turn right.

Negative commands

Every negative command is no + the subjunctive, including tú. So the affirmative and negative tú commands look quite different:

  1. Affirmative
    Habla más alto.

    Speak louder.

    Negative
    No hables tan alto.

    Don’t speak so loudly.

  2. Affirmative
    Ven mañana.

    Come tomorrow.

    Negative
    No vengas mañana.

    Don’t come tomorrow.

  3. Affirmative
    Haz eso.

    Do that.

    Negative
    No hagas eso.

    Don’t do that.

For usted and ustedes, both are already the subjunctive, so you just add no:

  1. Affirmative
    Firme aquí.

    Sign here.

    Negative
    No firme todavía.

    Don’t sign yet.

  2. Affirmative
    Vayan por aquí.

    Go this way.

    Negative
    No vayan por ahí.

    Don’t go that way.

Vosotros commands

Vosotros is only used in Spain, for a group of friends or family. For the affirmative, take the infinitive and change the final ‑r to ‑d. There are no irregulars. The negative is the subjunctive, like every other negative command.

Vosotros commands: the infinitive with -d for the affirmative, the subjunctive for the negative
VerbAffirmative CommandNegative Command
hablarhabladno habléis
comercomedno comáis
vivirvividno viváis
hacerhacedno hagáis
iridno vayáis

  • Venid a cenar el sábado.

    Come over for dinner on Saturday.

  • Tened cuidado en la carretera.

    Be careful on the road.

  • No habléis tan alto, que el bebé duerme.

    Don’t talk so loudly, the baby’s asleep.

Where pronouns go

With affirmative commands, object and reflexive pronouns attach to the end of the verb. With negative commands, they go before the verb, right after no.

  1. Affirmative: attached
    Cómpralo.

    Buy it.

    Negative: before
    No lo compres.

    Don’t buy it.

  2. Affirmative: attached
    Siéntese, por favor.

    Have a seat, please.

    Negative: before
    No se siente ahí.

    Don’t sit there.

  3. Affirmative: attached
    Llámenme mañana.

    Call me tomorrow.

    Negative: before
    No me llamen antes de las nueve.

    Don’t call me before nine.

With two pronouns, the indirect object (me, te, le…) comes first and the direct object (lo, la…) second.

Le and les change to se before lo, la, los, or las:

  • Dáselo a tu hermano.

    Give it to your brother.

  • Explíquenselo otra vez.

    Explain it to her again.

  • No se lo digas a nadie.

    Don’t tell anyone.

Accent marks when you add pronouns

Adding a pronoun doesn't move the stress, even though the word gets longer. When the stress ends up three syllables from the end, the word needs a written accent to show it stayed put. The accent doesn't change how you say it.

  • come becomes cómeloeat it
    accent added
  • compra becomes cómpralobuy it
    accent added
  • sienta becomes siéntatesit down
    accent added
  • hable becomes háblemetalk to me (usted)
    accent added

If the command is only one syllable, adding one pronoun leaves the stress where Spanish expects it anyway, so you don't need an accent:

  • di becomes dimetell me
    no accent
  • pon becomes ponloput it
    no accent
  • haz becomes hazlodo it
    no accent

Add two pronouns, though, and even a one-syllable command needs an accent:

  • di becomes dímelotell me (it)
    accent added
  • pon becomes pónteloput it on
    accent added
  • da becomes dáselogive it to him
    accent added

Let's: nosotros commands

To say let's, use the nosotros form of the subjunctive. The one exception is ir: let's go is vamos.

  • Hablemos mañana.

    Let’s talk tomorrow.

  • Vamos a la playa.

    Let’s go to the beach.

  • No pidamos pizza otra vez.

    Let’s not order pizza again.

Nosotros commands have a few quirks of their own, like dropping the ‑s in vámonos. They're covered on their own page: nosotros commands.

Softer ways to ask

Spanish uses commands more freely than English, and with por favor, a command is perfectly polite. Still, there are softer ways to ask for something:

  1. Command
    Pásame la sal.

    Pass me the salt.

    Softer
    ¿Me pasas la sal?

    Can you pass me the salt?

  2. Command
    Hable más despacio.

    Speak more slowly.

    Softer
    ¿Podría hablar más despacio?

    Could you speak more slowly?

  3. Command
    Ayúdenme.

    Help me.

    Softer
    ¿Me pueden ayudar?

    Can you all help me?

Common mistakes English speakers make

  1. Using the present for a negative tú command

    Incorrect:No hablas tan alto.
    Correct:No hables tan alto.

    Negative commands always use the subjunctive, even for tú.

  2. Making an irregular tú command regular

    Incorrect:Hace la tarea.
    Correct:Haz la tarea.

    Hacer is one of the eight irregular tú commands.

  3. Putting the pronoun before an affirmative command

    Incorrect:Lo compra.
    Correct:Cómpralo.

    With affirmative commands, pronouns must attach to the end.

  4. Attaching the pronoun to a negative command

    Incorrect:No dímelo.
    Correct:No me lo digas.

    With negative commands, pronouns must go before the verb, and the verb is the subjunctive.

  5. Forgetting the accent

    Incorrect:Comelo.
    Correct:Cómelo.

    The stress stays on co when you add lo, so the longer word needs an accent to show it.

Questions about Spanish commands

What is the imperative in Spanish?

The imperative is the verb form for giving commands, instructions, and requests: Habla ("Speak"), No comas ("Don't eat"). Most imperative forms are the same as the present subjunctive. Only affirmative tú and vosotros commands have forms of their own.

How do you make a negative command in Spanish?

Use no + the present subjunctive, for every person: no hables (tú), no hable (usted), no habléis (vosotros), and no hablen (ustedes).

What are the irregular tú commands?

There are eight: di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener), and ven (venir). Verbs built on tener, poner, and venir work the same way, with an accent: mantén, supón, prevén.

Where do pronouns go with commands?

They attach to the end of affirmative commands (Dímelo, Siéntate) and go before negative commands (No me lo digas, No te sientes).

Is it rude to use commands in Spanish?

Not usually. Spanish uses commands more freely than English, and with por favor, a command like Pásame la sal, por favor is perfectly polite. To sound softer, ask a question in the present (¿Me pasas la sal?) or use the conditional (¿Podrías…?).

Next upNosotros commands (let’s)“Let’s”: the forms, vamos vs. vayamos, and why sentémonos drops the s.

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