Cosas y Personas · A1 Spanish · Lesson 2
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Lesson 25
Commands

Mandatos básicos
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Why Commands Matter

You use commands every day:
  • → Giving directions: “Turn left!”
  • → Classroom routines: “Open your books.”
  • → Helping others: “Wait here.”
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Two Main Types

Informal
tú
vosotros
(Spain only)
Formal
usted
ustedes
(all Latin America)
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Affirmative tú Commands

-AR verb-ER verb-IR verb
hablar → ¡Habla!comer → ¡Come!vivir → ¡Vive!
/aˈβla//ˈko.me//ˈbi.βe/
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Key Irregular tú Commands

InfinitiveAffirmative túMeaning
ir¡Ve!Go!
hacer¡Haz!Do!/Make!
decir¡Di!Say!
venir¡Ven!Come!
ser¡Sé!Be!
tener¡Ten!Have!
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Negative tú Commands

RuleExample
no + tú present subjunctivehablar → no hables
comer → no comasvivir → no vivas
/no aˈβles//no ˈko.mas/
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Now say or write your own answer to: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Trap Alert!

️
English speakers often say:
¡No habla! ✗
¡Comes! ✗
But correct forms are:
¡No hables! ✓
¡Come! ✓
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Affirmative Usted Commands

-AR-ER-IR
hablar → ¡Hable!comer → ¡Coma!vivir → ¡Viva!
/ˈa.βle//ˈko.ma//ˈbi.βa/
Same as él/ella present tense
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Usted & Ustedes Commands

Usted (formal singular)
¡Hable más despacio!
¡No entre aquí!
Ustedes (formal/plural)
¡Hablen en español!
¡No usen el teléfono!
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Common Classroom Commands

1
¡Siéntate!
/sjeŋˈta.te/
2
¡Levanta la mano!
/leˈβan.ta la ˈma.no/
3
¡Escucha!
/esˈku.tʃa/
4
¡Repitan!
/reˈpi.tan/
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Polite Requests

Direct CommandPolite Version
¡Habla!Por favor, ¡habla más despacio!
¡Escribe!¿Podrías escribirlo, por favor?
¡Escucha!Sería muy útil si escucharas.
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

“Let’s…” Commands

FormulaExamples
nosotros + present subjunctivehablar → ¡Hablemos!
comer → ¡Comamos!
vivir → ¡Vivamos!
All end in -mos and carry written accent
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Pronoun Placement

AffirmativeNegative
¡Dame el libro!¡No me des el libro!
¡Pásamelo!¡No me lo pases!
Attach pronouns to affirmative commands.
Place before negative commands.
Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

Practice: Match & Say

  • 1 ¡______ más despacio! (hablar)
  • 2 ¡No ______ aquí! (fumar)
  • 3 ¡______ la puerta! (abrir)
  • 4 ¡No ______ esa palabra! (decir)
  • 5 ¡______ juntos! (vivir)
    • Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Now say or write your own answer to: Da dos classroom instructions.
    English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

    Real-Life Scenarios

    At school
    ¡Levanten la mano!
    ¡No salgan del salón!
    At home
    ¡Lava los platos!
    ¡No toques eso!
    On the street
    ¡Cruce con cuidado!
    ¡No cruce aquí!
    Say it, then make it yours: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Follow with your own answer: Da dos classroom instructions.
    English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

    Quick Check: True or False?

  • T ¡No comas! uses the subjunctive.
  • F ¡Habla! and ¡Hable! sound identical.
  • T ¡Ven! is irregular.
  • F ¡No vengas! is a tú command.
  • T ¡Comamos! means 'Let’s eat!'
    • Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Abre el libro, por favor. No uses el móvil en clase. Now say or write your own answer to: Da dos classroom instructions.
    English-speaker check: Positive tú commands attach pronouns; negative commands put the pronoun before the verb.

    Review: Command Forms at a Glance

    PersonAffirmativeNegative
    tú¡Habla! ¡Come! ¡Ve!¡No hables! ¡No comas! ¡No vayas!
    usted¡Hable! ¡Coma! ¡Vaya!¡No hable! ¡No coma! ¡No vaya!
    nosotros¡Hablemos! ¡Comamos!¡No hablemos! ¡No comamos!

    Wrap-up

    You can now…
    • ✓ Give clear instructions to friends and strangers
    • ✓ Make polite requests and invitations
    • ✓ Avoid top mistakes: no + indicative, missing accents, wrong pronoun placement
    Homework: Write 5 commands you’d say to your roommate — 2 tú, 2 usted, 1 nosotros. Include 1 negative.

    Homework

    Practice

    Notes
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