11.11: Gramática. Los mandatos informales; afirmativos y negativos
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- M. Barrio De Mendoza, K Gutiérrez, H.Ho, C. Lin, & A Stere Lugo
- ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative
Informal commands: affirmative and negative
Informal commands are commands that you give to someone you address using the "tú" form. The informal commands are very different when conjugated in the affirmative and negative forms. Let’s start with the affirmative form.
Affirmative commands
Regular verbs
To form affirmative informal commands (tú), conjugate regular verbs in the present tense of “él” form of the indicative.
|
Infinitive |
Present indicative "él" form |
Ejemplos |
|---|---|---|
|
Abrir |
Abre |
Abre las ventanas. Hace mucho calor aquí. |
|
Comprar |
Compra |
Compra una computadora nueva. |
|
Leer |
Lee |
Lee las primeras 5 páginas del libro, por favor. |
|
Pedir |
Pide |
Pide ayuda si no entiendes. |
|
Volver |
Vuelve |
Vuelve a casa antes de las diez. |
Irregular verbs
There is no conjugation pattern to follow to conjugate irregular affirmative "tú" commands. Just memorize the list of commands in the chart below.
|
Verbs |
Irregular affirmative "tú" |
Ejemplos |
|---|---|---|
|
Decir |
Di |
Di la verdad. |
|
Hacer |
Haz |
Haz la cama. |
|
Ir |
Ve |
¡Ve a tu cuarto! |
|
Poner |
Pon |
Pon tu mochila en tu cuarto. |
|
Salir |
Sal |
¡Sal de mi cuarto ahora! |
|
Ser |
Sé |
Sé sincero. |
|
Tener |
Ten |
Ten cuidado cuando manejes en la autopista. |
|
Venir |
Ven |
Ven conmigo a la fiesta de Mariela. |
Note: The irregular affirmative "tú" command for "ser", "sé", is identical to the verb "saber", "yo sé". In addition, the irregular affirmative "tú" command for "ir", "ve", and the verb "ver", "él ve" are identical as well. The context will tell which of the verbs is used.
Affirmative commands used with pronouns
Reflexive pronouns, indirect object and direct object pronouns are often used with commands. When pronouns are used with affirmative commands, attach the pronoun at the end of the command. The pronouns in the charts below are in bold as well as the the accented vowel needed on the verbs.
Ejemplos
|
Verb |
Placement of direct object pronoun |
|---|---|
|
Comprar los boletos |
¡Cómpralos! |
|
Escribir la carta |
¡Escríbela! |
| Verb | Placement of indirect object pronoun |
|---|---|
| Pedirle ayuda a el/la profesor(a) | Pídele ayuda |
| Darme un abrazo | ¡Dame un abrazo! |
| Verb | Placement of direct and indirect object pronoun |
|---|---|
| Explicar el proyecto a tus compañeros de clase | ¡Explícaselo! |
| Entregar la tarea a tu profesor(a) | ¡Entrégasela! |
| Verb | Placement of reflexive pronouns |
|---|---|
| Despertarse (e: ie) ahora | ¡Despiértate ahora! |
| Sentarse (e: ie) aquí | ¡Siéntate aquí! |
| Dormirse (o: ue) | ¡Duérmete! |
| Vestirse (e: i) rápido | ¡Vístete rápido! |
Negative commands
Regular verbs
Follow these steps to form negative commands:
- Conjugate the verb in the present tense of “yo” and drop the “o”
- For "-ar" ending verbs, add “-es”. For "-er" and "-ir" ending verbs, add “-as”
Reflexive verbs use the reflexive pronoun “te”, since it is an informal command in "tú" form.
Do not forget to add the negative word “no” before the verb, since it is a negative command.
"-ar" verbs
|
Infinitive "-ar" |
Present tense - indicative yo |
Stem of the verb |
Add "-es" |
Do not forget to add “no” to your informal negative commands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Comprar |
compro |
compr- |
compres |
No compres esta computadora. |
|
Sacar |
saco /k/ |
sac- |
saques /k/ |
No saques foto en el cine. |
|
Jugar |
juego /g/ |
jueg- |
juegues /g/ |
No juegues en la calle. |
|
Empezar |
empiezo ('s' or 'th' sound) |
empiez- |
empieces ('s' or 'th' sound) |
No empieces a escribir. |
"-er" and "-ir" verbs
|
Infinitive "-er" and "-ir" |
Present tense - Indicative yo |
stem of the verb |
Add "-as" |
Do not forget to add “no” to your informal negative commands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abrir | abro | abr- | abras | No abras la puerta. |
| Volver | vuelvo | vuelv- | vuelvas | No vuelvas tarde. |
| Poner | pongo | pong- | pongas | No pongas tus libros en el piso. |
| Traer | traigo | traig- | traigas | No traigas comida a la clase. |
| Decir | digo | dig- | digas | No digas mentiras. |
*When conjugating reflexive verbs in the negative informal commands, it is important to note that the reflexive pronouns used is "te" and it is placed before the verb.
Irregular verbs
|
Verbs |
Irregular negative commands |
Examples |
|---|---|---|
|
Dar |
No des |
No le des tu tarjeta de crédito a nadie. |
|
Estar |
No estés |
No estés preocupada por mí. |
|
Ser |
No seas |
No seas insincera. |
|
Saber |
No sepas |
No sepas la verdad. |
|
Ir |
No vayas |
No vayas tan pronto. |
Negative commands used with pronouns
Reflexive pronouns, indirect object and direct object pronouns are often used with negative commands. When pronouns are used with negative commands, place the pronouns after the word "no" and before the command. The pronouns in the charts below are in bold.
Ejemplos
|
Verb |
Placement of direct object pronoun |
|---|---|
|
No comprar los boletos |
No los compres |
| Verb | Placement of indirect object pronoun |
|---|---|
| No escribir el mensaje de texto a ella ahora | No le escribas el mensaje de texto ahora |
| Verb | Placement of direct and indirect object pronoun |
|---|---|
| No explicar el proyecto a tus compañeros de clase | No se lo expliques |
| No entregar la tarea a tu profesor(a) | No se la entregues |
| Verb | Placement of reflexive pronouns |
|---|---|
| Despertarse (e: ie) tarde | No te despiertes tarde |
| Sentarse (e: ie) aquí | No te sientes aquí |
| Dormirse (o: ue) | No te duermas |
| Vestirse (e: i) lentamente | No te vistas lentamente |