A2
Giving an instruction
How Spanish forms commands, why the negative borrows the subjunctive, and where object pronouns go.
The tú command is the él form of the present. Nothing is added.
Habla más despacio.
speak more slowly
Speak more slowly.
Come.
eat
Eat.
The negative is a different form
No plus the subjunctive. The vowel flips: -ar verbs take -es, -er and -ir take -as.
No hables tan rápido.
not you-speak so fast
Don’t speak so fast.
No habla tan rápido.
No hables tan rápido.
No habla is a statement — he doesn’t speak. A negative command needs the subjunctive, and this is where most learners first meet it.
usted and ustedes always use the subjunctive
Positive or negative.
| hable / no hable | usted |
| hablen / no hablen | ustedes |
Pase, por favor.
come-in, for favour
Come in, please.
Eight irregular tú commands
| decir → di | |
| hacer → haz | |
| ir → ve | |
| poner → pon | |
| salir → sal | |
| ser → sé | |
| tener → ten | |
| venir → ven |
All one syllable, and all positive only — the negatives are regular subjunctives.
Ven aquí.
come here
Come here.
Pronouns attach to a positive command and precede a negative one
Dímelo.
tell-me-it
Tell me.
No me lo digas.
not to-me it you-tell
Don’t tell me.
Attached, an accent appears to hold the stress: dime, dímelo, levántate. See pronoun order.