The Imperative: Affirmative Commands in Spanish

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Use the imperative to tell someone what to do in a direct and straightforward way.

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.

Conjugating the imperative AR verbs

such as esperar, which means to wait

Subject pronoun	Imperative
Tú	espera
Usted	espere
Nosotros	esperemos
Vosotros	esperad
Ustedes	esperen

ER verbs

such as comprender, which means to understand

Subject pronoun	Imperative
Tú	comprende
Usted	comprenda
Nosotros	comprendamos
Vosotros	comprended
Ustedes	comprendan

IR verbs

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

Tricks to remember the conjugation Tú

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

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

Nosotros

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

Vosotros

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

Ustedes

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

Stem-changing verbs

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

Other irregular verbs.

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

The placement of pronouns

All pronouns are attached to the end of the verb in the imperative.

Reflexive pronouns

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

Direct object pronouns

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

Indirect object pronouns

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

Indirect object pronouns + direct object pronouns

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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