The use of the imperative in Spanish is very straightforward. It is a direct way of telling someone what to do, whether it is instructions, advice, or recommendation. In fact, the imperative is all about commands, and you will not be relying on: 1) words such as “should” or “have to,”; 2. the conditional (“Would you get me that?”); 3. the subjunctive (“If I were you…”).
When a tourist asks you for directions, use the imperative. When you tell a friend how to make that amazing family dish, use the imperative. Although you can use the imperative with children, generally it is best to rely on the conditional when telling adults what to do, especially those with whom you don’t have a close relationship.
You might be wondering what exactly do I mean by a direct command. “Do that” would be a direct command, as opposed to saying, “Tell him to do that,” which would be indirect and require the subjunctive.
The imperative is an entirely different mood. Remember that these are four moods in Spanish: indicative, subjunctive, imperative, and conditional. Instructors will generally teach the imperative before the subjunctive for two reasons. The first reason why is because, as mentioned above, the imperative is very simple, especially when compared to the subjunctive. The second reason is because once you know how to conjugate verbs in the imperative mood, you can use this for the subjunctive. In fact, imperatives for usted (singular formal second person), nosotros (plural first person), and ustedes (plural second person) all derive from their respective subjunctive forms in the present tense. This is true for both the affirmative as well as negative commands. This will make your transition into the subjunctive much smoother.
Although some instructors and linguists choose not to include nosotros as part of the imperative, I believe it is fair to include it. After all, you are giving a direct command to someone, even if you are part of that group. However, please note that the imperative is not the only form of nosotros commands. Ir + a is another option, as in Vamos a bailar = Let’s go dancing.
such as esperar, which means to wait
Subject pronoun | Imperative |
Tú | espera |
Usted | espere |
Nosotros | esperemos |
Vosotros | esperad |
Ustedes | esperen |
such as comprender, which means to understand
Subject pronoun | Imperative |
Tú | comprende |
Usted | comprenda |
Nosotros | comprendamos |
Vosotros | comprended |
Ustedes | comprendan |
such as decidir, which means to decide. The conjugation is the same as with er verbs.
Subject pronoun | Imperative |
Tú | decide |
Usted | decida |
Nosotros | decidamos |
Vosotros | decidid |
Ustedes | decidan |
You have two ways of remember the imperative conjugation for tú: 1. Use the same conjugation as present indicative for él/ella (singular third person); or 2. Use the tú form from present indicative, and simply drop the s.
Verb | Translation | Present indicative él/ella | Present indicative tú | Imperative |
viajar | to travel | viaja | viajas | viaja |
aprender | to learn | aprende | aprendes | aprende |
escribir | to write | escribe | escribes | escribe |
Usted is trickier. First, remember that none of the conjugations end in i. Next, remember that the ending of the verb will correlate with the opposite vowel. If it is an ar verb, drop the ar, and add an e. If it is an er/ir verb, drop the er/ir, and add an a.
Verb | Translation | Present Tense | Imperative |
viajar | to travel | viaja | viaje |
aprender | to learn | aprende | aprenda |
escribir | to write | escribe | escriba |
For nosotros, the same rule as with usted applies. Simply go with the opposite vowel. If it is an ar verb, drop the ar, and add emos. If it is an er/ir verb, drop the er/ir, and add amos.
Verb | Translation | Present Tense | Imperative |
viajar | to travel | viajamos | viajemos |
aprender | to learn | aprendemos | aprendamos |
escribir | to write | escribimos | escribamos |
Drop the r off the infinite form of the verb and add a d. Note vosotros imperative in the affirmative is a completely unique form.
Verb | Translation | Present Tense | Imperative |
viajar | to travel | viajáis | viajad |
aprender | to learn | aprendéis | aprended |
escribir | to write | escribís | escribid |
You have two options with ustedes. Option 1: Drop the ar/er/ir ending in the infinitive form and add the opposite vowel to the ending + n. For example, the verb beber (to drink) would become beba + n = beban. The verb asistir (to assist, to attend) would become asista + n = asistan. Option 2, also the simplest option: If you know the imperative for usted, add an n.
Verb | Translation | Present Tense | Imperative usted | Imperative ustedes |
viajar | to travel | viajan | viaje | viajen |
aprender | to learn | aprenden | aprenda | aprendan |
escribir | to write | escriben | escriba | escriban |
These are verbs in the yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, ustedes forms whose ending will be regular, but the stem itself will change in the following way in the present indicative:
E ➡➡I
E ➡➡EI
O ➡➡UE
Stem-changing verbs will remain as such in the imperative. Nosotros retains its regular stem, with the exception of ir verbs, which become either e ➡ i or e ➡ o. For the verb dormir, the change is o ➡ u
Verb | Translation | Imperative |
dormir | to sleep | durmamos |
medir | to measure | midamos |
mentir | to lie | mintamos |
pedir | to ask for, request | pidamos |
repetir | to repeat | repitamos |
servir | to serve | sirvamos |
vestir | to dress | vistamos |
Let’s look at some examples with other stem-changing verbs using the tú, usted, vosotros, and ustedes forms.
E ➡➡I, such as the verb pedir.
Subject pronoun | Present Indicative | Imperative |
Tú | pides | pide |
Usted | pide | pida |
Ustedes | piden | pidan |
E ➡➡EI, such as the verb pensar (to think)
Subject pronoun | Present Indicative | Imperative |
Tú | piensas | piensa |
Usted | piensa | piense |
Nosotros | pensamos | pensemos |
Vosotros | pensáis | pensad |
Ustedes | piensan | piensen |
O ➡➡UE, such as recordar (to remember)
Subject pronoun | Present Indicative | Imperative |
Tú | recuerdas | recuerda |
Usted | recuerda | recuerde |
Nosotros | recordamos | recordemos |
Vosotros | recordáis | recordad |
Ustedes | recuerdan | recuerden |
Note that vosotros is not listed because all verbs remain regular for affirmative commands.
Verb | Translation | Tú | Usted | Nosotros | Ustedes |
Decir | to say | di | diga | digamos | digan |
Hacer | to do | haz | haga | hagamos | hagan |
Ir | to go | ve | vaya | vayamos | vayan |
Poner | to put | pon | ponga | pongamos | pongan |
Tener | to have | ten | tenga | tengamos | tengan |
Saber | to know | sabe | sepa | sepamos | sepan |
Salir | to exit, go out | sal | salga | salgamos | salgan |
Ser | to be | sé | sea | seamos | sean |
Venir | to come | ven | venga | vengamos | vengan |
All pronouns are attached to the end of the verb in the imperative.
Reflexive pronouns are me (yo); te (tú); se (él/ella/usted); nos (nosotros); os (vosotros); se (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
For reflexive pronouns—and only for reflexive pronouns—nosotros and vosotros follow these rules. For nosotros: Treat the verb as a non-reflexive, drop the s, and add the pronoun. For example: afeitarse ➡ afeitemos ➡afeitémonos
For vosotros: Treat the verb as a non-reflexive, drop the d, and add the pronoun. For example: afeitarse ➡ afeitad ➡afeitáos. You can also choose to simple take the final r on the infinite form and add the pronoun os.
Verb | Translation | Tú | Usted | Nosotros | Vosotros | Ustedes |
bañarse | to bathe | báñate | báñese | bañémonos | bañáos | báñense |
cepillarse | to brush | cepíllate | cepíllese | cepillémonos | cepilláos | cepíllense |
quitarse | to take off | quítate | quítese | quitémonos | quitáos | quítense |
The direct object pronouns are me (yo); te (tú); lo/la (él/ella/usted); nos (nosotros); os (vosotros); los/las (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
The examples below use the singular third person direct object pronoun lo. In this case, lo means “it.”
Verb | Translation | Tú | Usted | Nosotros | Vosotros | Ustedes |
prometer | to promise | promételo | prométalo | prometámoslo | prometedlo | prométanlo |
dar | to give | dalo | delo | demoslo | dadlo | denlo |
explicar | to explain | explícalo | explíquelo | expliquémoslo | explicadlo | expliquénlo |
The direct object pronouns are me (yo); te (tú); le (él/ella/usted); nos (nosotros); os (vosotros); les (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
The examples below use the singular third person indirect object pronoun le.
Verb | Translation | Tú | Usted | Nosotros | Vosotros | Ustedes |
prometer | to promise | prométele | prométale | prometámosle | prometedle | prométanle |
dar | to give | dale | dele | démosle | dadle | denle |
explicar | to explain | explícale | explíquele | expliquémosle | explicadle | explíquenle |
When the direct and indirect object pronouns are used in the same sentence, they are always next to one another. In the affirmative commands, they are attached. The indirect object pronoun always comes first. When these two pronouns are together, and when the indirect object pronoun is singular or plural third person, instead of le or les, se will be used.
The examples below use the singular third person indirect object pronoun le.
Note that because the nosotros form ends with an s and se also starts with an s, only one s is used. Spanish does not use ss.
Verb | Translation | Tú | Usted | Nosotros | Vosotros | Ustedes |
prometer | to promise | prométeselo | prométaselo | prometámoselo | prométedselo | prométanselo |
dar | to give | dáselo | déselo | démoselo | dadselo | dénselo |
explicar | to explain | explícale | explíquele | expliquémoselo | explicadselo | explíquenselo |
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