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11.11: Gramática. Los mandatos informales; afirmativos y negativos

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    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 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:

    1. Conjugate the verb in the present tense of “yo” and drop the “o”
    2. 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