10.3: The Imperative

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Page ID: 44606

Erin Huebener
Spokane Community College via Independent

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Affirmative ‘Tú’ commands

Informal affirmative commands are used for telling a “tú” person to do something.

To form an affirmative tú command: Use the present tense ‘usted/él/ella’ form and say it like a command:

Hablar: ________ en serio, por favor.

Comer: ___________________________te tus verduras, hijo*.

Escribir: ________ una frase en español.

Comprar: ________ una pizza para la fiesta.

Leer: ________ el capítulo siete.

Seguir (e:i): ________ derecho.

Dar: Papá, _____________________me* diez dólares.

Acostarse (o:ue): ¡________, ya!**

Of course, there are some irregular affirmative tú commands. Some common ones are:

Decir: ________me* la verdad.

Hacer:________ tu tarea.

Ser: ________ simpática, mi’ja.

Poner:________ la comida en el refrigerador, por favor.

Venir:________ acá.

Tener:¡________ cuidado!

Salir:¡________ de aquí!

Ir:________ al mercado y cómprame** ocho bananos.

*Attach pronouns to the end of affirmative commands (they go in front of negative commands).

“Cómete” is commonly used with food. Commands are often seen in the reflexive form, even if it is not usually reflexive — it adds a sense of urgency.

**Add an accent if you add a pronoun and the command form has more than one syllable.

Negative ‘Tú’ commands

All formal commands

All plural commands

To form negative ‘tú’ commands, or formal or plural commands:

1. Start with the yo form of the verb in the present tense. Leave off the –o ending—this is your building block. Beware of verbs that have irregular yo forms or stem changes in the present, as these will be present in the building block.

2. At the end of the building block, add the opposite ending.

-AR verbs get ‘e’: (es, e, en)

-ER and –IR verbs get ‘a’: (as, a, an)

3. Using pronouns: For affirmative commands, attach the pronoun to the end of the command form and add an accent for commands that are longer than one syllable (without the added pronoun). For negative commands, put any pronouns in front of the command form.

Ej: Dígame la verdad. / No me diga nada.

4. Watch out for CAR-GAR-ZAR’s—they will take spelling changes just like in the preterite.

Ej: No me toques. / No lleguen tarde. / Inmovilícele el cuello hasta que llegue la ambulancia.

Infinitivo	Building block: Yo form (without the ending)	Negative tú command form	Usted command form	Ustedes command form
Hablar	Habl-	No hables	(No) hable	(No) hablen
Comer
Escribir
Hacer (yo/go)
Venir (e:ie, yo/go)
Conocer (yo/zco)
Tener(e:ie, yo/go)
Decir(e:ie, yo/go)
Preocuparse
Tocar
Llegar
Empezar (e:ie)
Mentir (e:ie)
Dormirse (o:ue)
Sentirse (e: ie,i)

Of course, there are some irregulars:

Dar: Tú—no des, Usted—(No) dé Ustedes—(No) den

Estar: Tú—no estés Usted—(No) esté Ustedes—(No) estén

Ir: Tú—no vayas Usted—(No) vaya Ustedes—(No) vayan

Ser: Tú—no seas Usted—(No) sea Ustedes—(No) sean

Saber: Tú—no sepas Usted—(No) sepa Ustedes—(No) sepan

Actividad 7

¡A regañar a los niños! Let’s reprimand the kids! With a partner, think about common affirmative and negative commands parents give their child (using the ‘tú’ commands) and teachers give their class (using the ‘ustedes’ commands). Write at least one negative command per scenario. When you’re done, pick one to share with the class. Video

Mandatos de padres: a hijos

1.________

2.________

3.________

Mandatos de maestros a alumnos:

1.________

2.________

3.________

Actividad 8

El amigo instigador/ la amiga instigadora versus la voz de la razón. In a group of friends, there always seems to be one friend who has all sorts of exciting ideas (or terrible ideas… it’s a fine line!). There also always seems to be a friend who serves as the voice of reason. In this scenario, your instigator friend will tell you to do something, and your voice-of-reason friend will tell you not to do it. You are caught in the middle. For each activity, write “Yo lo hago” or “Yo no lo hago” to say if you would or would not do it. If you have time, say why or why not.

El/ la instigador/a	La voz de la razón	Yo lo hago/ Yo no lo hago
Sube ese árbol…..	¡No lo subas!
Grita fuego en el cine….	¡No lo grites!
Haz una broma por teléfono….	¡No la hagas!
Cómete la pizza entera….	¡No la comas!

Actividad 9

La salud y el estilo de vida. You have just been hired as a staff writer for a Spanish-language health and lifestyle blog and your first task is to write an article titled Cinco maneras de vivir más tiempo. Using formal commands (an unknown reader should be treated as usted), make five recommendations for living a longer life. Be prepared to share and discuss your recommendations with a partner and the class. Video

1. ________

2.________

3.________

4. ________

5.________