Affirmative imperative
A2 El imperativo afirmativo 28 / 49
In short
To give a command or instruction to tú or vosotros (informal “you”), Spanish has special affirmative forms: for tú, reuse the he/she present-tense form (habla, come); for vosotros, change the infinitive’s final -r to -d (hablad).
The rule
This lesson covers affirmative commands to the people you address informally: tú (one person) and vosotros/-as (several, in Spain). The polite usted/ustedes commands, the nosotros “let’s” command, and all negative commands use the subjunctive and belong to lesson 41.
Step 1 — tú (informal singular). The regular affirmative tú command is identical to the third-person singular present indicative — the “él/ella” form:
- hablar -> habla (¡Habla más despacio!)
- comer -> come
- escribir -> escribe
Stem changes carry over, because the él form already has them: cerrar -> cierra, dormir -> duerme, pedir -> pide.
Eight irregular tú commands. These short verbs have a special one-syllable form — memorize them:
di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener), ven (venir).
Step 2 — vosotros (informal plural, Spain). Take the infinitive and change the final -r -> -d. No exceptions: hablar -> hablad, comer -> comed, ir -> id. (In Latin America vosotros is not used; the plural command is ustedes -> lesson 41.)
Attaching pronouns. With affirmative commands, object and reflexive pronouns are attached to the end of the verb, forming one word. Adding a pronoun usually forces a written accent to keep the original stress:
- di + me + lo -> dímelo — levanta + te -> levántate — pon + lo -> ponlo
- vosotros drops the -d before the reflexive os: sentad + os -> sentaos, callad + os -> callaos.
Forms & patterns
Regular affirmative commands:
| Verb | tú | vosotros/-as |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | hablad |
| comer | come | comed |
| escribir | escribe | escribid |
| cerrar (e->ie) | cierra | cerrad |
| dormir (o->ue) | duerme | dormid |
Irregular tú commands (regular vosotros alongside):
| Verb | tú | vosotros |
|---|---|---|
| decir | di | decid |
| hacer | haz | haced |
| ir | ve | id |
| poner | pon | poned |
| salir | sal | salid |
| ser | sé | sed |
| tener | ten | tened |
| venir | ven | venid |
Attaching pronouns (note the added accent):
| Command | + pronoun(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| di | + me + lo | dímelo |
| levanta | + te | levántate |
| pon | + lo | ponlo |
| dad | + me + lo | dádmelo |
| sentad | + os | sentaos |
Examples
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Habla más despacio, por favor. | Speak more slowly, please. |
| Come la verdura. | Eat your vegetables. |
| Ven aquí y siéntate. | Come here and sit down. |
| Haz los deberes ahora. | Do your homework now. |
| Dímelo otra vez. | Tell it to me again. |
| Ponte el abrigo, hace frío. | Put your coat on, it’s cold. |
| Callaos, por favor. | Be quiet, please. (to several people) |
| Tened cuidado en la calle. | Be careful in the street. (vosotros) |
Common mistakes
- Comas la fruta (as an order) -> Come la fruta - the affirmative tú is the él-form (come); the subjunctive (comas) is only for negatives (lesson 41).
- Hace los deberes -> Haz los deberes - hacer has the irregular tú command haz, not “hace/haces”.
- Ves a casa -> Ve a casa - the affirmative tú command of ir is just ve, with no -s.
- Dime lo / dimelo -> dímelo - attach both pronouns and add the written accent.
- Sentados, por favor -> Sentaos - the vosotros reflexive drops the -d before os (sentad + os).
- Levantate -> Levántate - attaching te shifts the stress, so a written accent is required.
Tips
- Regular tú = “the he/she present form”. If él come, then ¡Come!
- The eight irregular tú commands are all short verbs. Memory phrase: “Ten paciencia, ven, sal, sé bueno, pon, haz, di y ve.”
- vosotros is dead simple: infinitive, swap final -r -> -d. Always - hablad, comed, id.
- Attaching a pronoun and the stress lands on the third-from-last syllable? Write the accent: pon -> ponlo (fine) but pon -> póntelo (accent).
- Only tú and vosotros live here; usted, ustedes, nosotros and every negative command use the subjunctive (lesson 41).