Mastering Spanish Commands: A Comprehensive Guide for Effective Communication

Key takeaways

• Spanish commands (imperatives) help you give instructions, advice, or requests.
• There are 4 main "you" forms: tú, usted, vosotros, and ustedes.
• Commands can be affirmative (do something) or negative (don’t do it).
• Conjugation depends on the subject, verb type (regular/irregular), and formality.
• Irregular verbs like haz, ve, sé have unique command forms.
• Use vosotros for informal plural in Spain; ustedes for plural everywhere else.
• Promova offers grammar tips, quizzes, and AI practice to help you master commands.

Spanish commands are an essential part of everyday conversation. Especially if you find yourself in a Spanish-speaking country, where you may need to ask someone for help or give someone an order, and how you say it matters.

Imagine trying to navigate a new country without being able to say "Stop," "Come here," or "Tell me more." It would make the trip feel a bit daunting and complicated.

If you're learning Spanish, mastering commands is one of the most practical ways to sound confident and natural. Let’s discuss how to use Spanish commands to communicate effectively and how Promova can help you master them with ease.

What are Spanish commands?

Spanish commands, also known as imperative forms, are used to give orders, make requests, offer advice, or provide instructions. 

The peculiarity of this form is that, unlike other forms or moods such as the indicative and subjunctive moods, the imperative mood focuses on action, is fast, and only the second person singular and plural are conjugated.

Meaning, the pronouns "tú", "vosotros," and "usted" are the only ones that are conjugated in the Spanish command. 

That’s why you’ll mostly see Spanish commands aimed at "you" singular or plural, whether it’s casual (tú), formal (usted), or plural (vosotros or ustedes commands in Latin America).

Another notable fact is that in the Spanish imperative mood, the subject pronouns are typically left out. 

If you're telling someone what to do, it's already clear who you're talking to; there's rarely a need to say "tú" or "usted" out loud. Since it is only used to give orders, and in most cases, it is not necessary to add it.

When forming commands in Spanish, three key factors determine how a verb is conjugated:

• Is the command affirmative or negative?
• Is it meant for a formal (usted) or informal situation (tú or ustedes/vosotros)?
• Are you speaking to one person (singular) or more than one (plural)?

Why and when to use Spanish commands

Before we answer this question, you need to understand that there are four "you" commands in Spanish. 

We mentioned them briefly in the previous section, but it's crucial to reiterate them here for a better understanding.

The four "you" Commands are:

• Tú commands in Spanish
• Usted commands in Spanish (the formal, respectful "you")
• Vosotros commands in Spanish
• Ustedes commands in Spanish

Just as we have singulars and plurals in the English language, so does the Spanish language. 

In Spanish, the four "you" commands are formed from the singular subject pronouns "tú" and "usted" and from the plural subject pronouns "vosotros" and "ustedes."

As you can see in the chart above, the four "you" commands do not include nosotros (we) or yo (which has no command form).

You can easily replace all the subject pronouns with the word "you," or "y’all," or "you guys."

For example, a command given to one person: 

• Cariño, ¡cierra la puerta! — Darling, close the door! (tú mode, and informal)
• Sr. José, ¡cierre la puerta! — Mr. Jose, close the door! (usted mode, and formal)

The example above can also be written like this:

• ¡Cierra la puerta! — [You] Close the door! (tú mode, and informal. Referring to the darling in the example)
• Señor, ¡cierre la puerta! — [You] Sir, close the door! (Usted mode, and formal. Referring to Mr. Jose)

While we wouldn’t recommend speaking to your darling in that manner, it is an alternative way to give the order.

That said, you should use commands when you want to give orders or instructions, make offers or requests, or provide suggestions or advice. For example, you can:

• Give direct instructions ("Coloca las baterías" — "Put on (install) the batteries")
• Offer suggestions or advice ("Come frutas y verduras" — "Eat fruits and vegetables")
• Make an informal request ("Abre la ventana, por favor" — "Open the window, please")
• Warn or stop someone ("No toques eso" — "Don't touch that")

If you are an individual aiming to boost your Spanish communication skills for career or relocation, understanding when and how to use these commands is essential because it will help you communicate clearly and respectfully within the Spanish community. 

This is also important since Spanish has formal and informal variations based on who you're speaking to, as we have shown in the examples above.

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How to conjugate commands in Spanish

If you want to order someone to do something in Spanish, for example, to "Close the door!" like in the example above, you would conjugate the infinitive verb "cerrar" ("to close") using the command formula to form the imperative.

The imperative is simply the command form of a verb.

Each of the formulas for the four "you" commands is included in this detailed Spanish grammar guide.

To conjugate commands effectively, remember that imperatives in Spanish can either be formal or informal and change form depending on whether you're telling someone to do something (affirmative) or not to do something (negative). 

Commands also change depending on whether the verb is regular or irregular.

Let's start by explaining the positive (affirmative) and negative commands in Spanish.

Affirmative and negative commands in Spanish

The affirmative command, also called the positive imperative tense, is one of two types of imperative forms, used to issue direct commands or orders. 

The two types, as mentioned earlier, are the "tú" form and the usted" form.

In case we didn’t mention it before, the plural form of the "tú" is "vosotros/as" while the plural form for the "usted" command is "ustedes."

That said, let’s talk about the "tú" command in detail.

The "tú" command is used when talking to one person. You use it when telling them to do something, such as a child or someone you know well, like a neighbor, friend, or family member.

To form regular "tú" commands, we use the third-person singular form of the present indicative tense.

For example, when you say to a friend: "Ven aquí" — "Come here." 

But if you were to say the same words to a stranger, it becomes: "Venga aquí" — "Come here" (to a stranger or elder), which is the formal way to say the same words. 

Conversely, the negative command in Spanish is used to tell someone not to do something. They are essentially the "don't" version of affirmative commands in Spanish.

To form a negative command, simply add a "no" before the conjugated verb, and there you have it! For example, "Hables" becomes "no hables." (Don’t speak)

Both negative and positive commands in Spanish may be formal or informal. One of the main things that makes the commands formal or informal is the various uses of "you" in Spanish. 

Remember the four formal and informal commands, Spanish forms of you. See them below:

Formal:

• Usted — singular
• Ustedes — plural

Informal:

• Tú — singular
• Vostros — plural

Formal and informal commands in Spanish

Using either formal commands or informal Spanish commands depends on the social context and your relationship with the listener(s).

1. Tú/ Vosotros commands (the informal "you")

As we have said earlier in this guide, the "tú" form of conjugating commands is the informal "you," which is used for people you are familiar with.

In Spain, this form is used frequently (whether you are familiar with the person or not). In other Spanish-speaking countries, it is only used with friends or close family members.

The plural informal form of "tú" is "vosotros," which is used in Spain to address a group of people informally. In Latin America, however, this form is not used; instead, "ustedes" is used for both formal and informal situations when addressing more than one person.

• Affirmative "tú" command

To form the affirmative "tú" command, simply conjugate the verb to the 3rd person present conjugation (i.e., the "usted, él, ella") form.

• Negative "tú" commands

To form the negative "tú" command, you must follow the three simple steps shown below. It’s the same process you’d use when creating the present subjunctive tense in the "tú" form.

Steps:

1. Go to the "Yo"!
2. Drop the "o."
3. Add the appropriate ending.

A quick explanation for adding the appropriate ending in the informal negative commands:

For "-ar" verbs used in the singular form "tú," add "-es."

For verbs that end in either "-ir" or "-er" and are used in the singular form of "tú," add “-as.”

• Affirmative "vosotros" commands

According to SpanishDictionary.com, affirmative "vosotros" commands are used to tell a group of individuals you are familiar with to do something.

Forming the affirmative "vosotros" command is very simple! Simply start with the verb form in the infinitive and change the "r" to a "d."

* Notice how even verbs that are usually irregular in their conjugations follow the regular patterns when forming the affirmative "vosotros" command.

• Negative "vosotros" commands

Just like with the negative "tú" commands, these are formed based on the present subjunctive.

Steps:

1. Go to the "yo" form of the verb in the present tense.
2. Drop the "-o."
3. Add the appropriate "vosotros" ending.

Quick guide for endings:

For "-ar" verbs, add an "-éis."

For "-er" and "-ir" verbs, add an “-áis.”

Now that we’ve covered the informal plural "you" ("vosotros") commands, let’s dive into the formal "you" commands, both affirmative and negative, using "usted" (singular formal) and "ustedes" (plural formal).

2. Usted/ustedes commands (the formal "you")

The "usted" conjugation is used in any situation where you may feel you aren’t very familiar or friendly with the person you’re speaking to.

Similarly, the plural form "ustedes" is used when speaking to a group of people to whom you would like to show respect.

For example, you can use this with your parents, elderly people, customers, or your boss at work.

• Affirmative "usted" command

To form the affirmative "usted" command, you’ll need to go through three steps. It’s the same process you’d use when forming the present subjunctive conjugation of the "usted" and "ustedes" forms.

Remember the "yo" in our table, under the "When and Why We Use Commands"?

We will be switching to that form because many Spanish verbs have irregularities or spelling changes in the "yo" form (like digo, vengo, etc.). 

These irregularities need to be carried over into the command form to preserve proper pronunciation and grammar, as we will demonstrate when we examine the commands in Spanish examples. 

1. Go to the "yo" form of the present tense.
2. Drop the "-o."
3. Add the appropriate ending (-e/-en for -ar verbs, -a/-an for -er/-ir verbs).

Here is a quick explanation for adding the appropriate ending:

For "ar" verbs used in the singular form, "Usted" - add an "e" and "en" for the plural form "Ustedes."

For "er" and "ir" verbs used in the singular form, "Usted" - add an "a" and "an" for the plural formal commands "Ustedes."

Here are some examples:

* Here, conjugating "hablar" to the "yo" form may not seem completely necessary, since there is no spelling/pronunciation change. 

However, with "decir," we can see irregularities in spelling/pronunciation change, and the same is true for "venir."

These irregularities emphasize the importance of using the "yo" form; otherwise, the spelling/pronunciation change will not carry over, and the command will be formed incorrectly.

• Negative formal commands

Unlike the informal commands, which we have already covered, there is no change in conjugation when forming the negative formal commands. 

Simply add a "no," and there you have it!

Irregular commands

While many verbs follow the rules outlined above, Spanish has a number of highly common verbs with irregular command forms. 

The "tú" commands explained earlier are for regular verbs. It is crucial to understand how this is done with irregular verbs, which don’t follow this rule.

• Affirmative irregular "tú" commands

To form the affirmative "tú" commands for irregular verbs, first you need to know that there are eight irregular "tú" commands. See them in the table below:

Next, let's discuss the negative irregular informal "you".

• Negative irregular "tú" commands

To form the negative "tú" commands for irregular verbs, you will follow the same pattern as the present subjunctive "tú" conjugations. 

* For Ser, when forming the negative "tú" command, the -oy gets dropped, not just the -o. 

** For instance, instead of saying no soas (which is grammatically incorrect in Spanish), the grammatically correct form would be "No seas." Likewise, don’t fall into the trap of saying 'no vas,' that’s a present tense form, not a command! Use no vayas.

Next, we will explain the concept of irregular formal commands.

• Irregular formal commands

There aren’t many irregular "usted/ustedes" commands. See them in the table below:

How Promova supports you in Spanish grammar learning

Today, you learned a very powerful lesson about Spanish commands. While they may seem tricky for beginners, they are actually pretty straightforward once you get the hang of them. 

With Promova, learning, understanding, and speaking Spanish commands effectively becomes as easy as "ABC." We provide you with engaging Spanish exercises and practical tools like: 

• Spanish grammar breakdowns tailored to your level
• Flexible Spanish online classes so you can learn the Spanish command form at your own pace 
• Interactive quizzes on commands and verb forms
• Flashcards for irregular Spanish verbs and tricky commands in Spanish rules
• AI-powered role-play chats so you can practice Spanish commands in real-life scenarios

You’ll not only learn how to recognize and form commands but also how to use them naturally in conversations. Promova’s Spanish language learning app makes sure your Spanish practice fits your lifestyle.

While some lessons are free and offer great value, we recommend the Promova Premium subscription for personalized learning, which includes all advanced features.

Master Spanish commands with Promova

Mastering Spanish commands isn’t as difficult as many think it to be. Understanding the formula behind conjugating commands and identifying the patterns will help you begin to speak the language more naturally.

To start your process of learning Spanish online and become more confident in Spanish conversations, download the Promova Spanish language learning app.

Conclusion

Mastering commands is key to sounding natural in Spanish. Whether you’re saying "come in" or "don’t touch that," knowing the right form makes a big difference.

With Promova, you’ll get bite-sized lessons, real practice, and simple tools to boost your Spanish faster.