Spanish imperative commands: telling someone what to do

A Spanish command changes shape for two reasons: who you are talking to and whether you are telling them to do something or not to do it. Address one friend with the informal tú, one stranger or person you respect with the formal usted, and any group with ustedes. For an affirmative tú command you usually just take the present-tense “he/she” form: habla, come, escribe. Everything else — formal commands and every negative command — uses the subjunctive instead.

Informal commands (tú)

The affirmative tú command for a regular verb is identical to the third-person singular of the present tense — the form you already use for él / ella.

Habla más despacio.
Speak more slowly.

Come la fruta.
Eat the fruit.

Eight common verbs have short irregular tú commands you simply memorize:

Ven aquí y haz la tarea.
Come here and do the homework.

These irregulars apply only to the affirmative tú form; the negative and formal versions follow the subjunctive pattern below.

Formal and plural commands (usted, ustedes)

For usted and ustedes, drop the present-tense -o ending of the yo form and add the “opposite” vowel: -ar verbs take -e / -en, while -er and -ir verbs take -a / -an. This is the subjunctive form.

Hable más despacio, por favor.
Speak more slowly, please. (formal)

Pasen, por favor.
Come in, please. (to a group)

The same endings cover the irregulars: decir gives diga / digan, and venir gives venga / vengan.

Negative commands

To tell anyone not to do something, use no plus the subjunctive form for that person — for every subject, including tú.

No hables tan rápido.
Don’t speak so fast. (tú)

No coma aquí.
Don’t eat here. (usted)

No lleguen tarde.
Don’t arrive late. (ustedes)

The key trap is the tú form: the negative is not the affirmative command. Habla becomes no hables, not no habla.

Where do the pronouns go?

Reflexive and object pronouns attach to the end of an affirmative command, forming one word. Because the word grows, you usually add a written accent to keep the original stress.

Dímelo.
Tell it to me.

Siéntate.
Sit down. (tú)

Levántese, por favor.
Stand up, please. (usted)

With a negative command, the pronouns move before the verb as separate words.

No me lo digas.
Don’t tell it to me.

No te sientes ahí.
Don’t sit there.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive as a command

The dictionary form is not a command. Spanish needs the conjugated imperative.

Hablar más despacio. → Habla más despacio.
Speak more slowly.

Using the affirmative form in the negative

A negative tú command takes the subjunctive, so habla must change to hables.

No habla tan rápido. → No hables tan rápido.
Don’t speak so fast.

Putting the pronoun in the wrong place

After an affirmative command pronouns attach to the end; after a negative one they come before the verb.

No siéntate. → No te sientes.
Don’t sit down.

Commands are easiest to internalize when you answer short prompts instead of filling tables: Fluera shows you a quick situation and you produce the right command, so the tú / usted split and the pronoun shuffle become a reflex. The choice between an informal and a formal command deserves its own tú vs usted commands walkthrough, but the fastest way to make the forms stick is to practice Spanish by reacting to real requests.

Practice