Spanish commands for tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes and vos
Commands, the imperative, are the forms you use to tell someone to do something: ven, siéntese, no toques eso. Spanish has a different form for each kind of “you”, and a different form again when the command is negative. Below: every form with tables, the irregular verbs, where pronouns go, and how to make a command sound polite.
When to use a command
Use a command to give instructions, directions and advice, and to make requests. Recipes, signs, teachers, doctors and friends all use them. Gira a la derecha is “turn right”. Toma una pastilla cada ocho horas is “take one tablet every eight hours”.
Use a command in shops and bars, too. In Spain, Ponme un café is a normal way to order and is not rude. In Mexico and Colombia people more often ask with a question, ¿Me da un café?, and in Colombia ¿Me regala un café?. In a Colombian shop, ¿Me regala…? means “Can I have…?”, and you still pay.
Choose the form by who you are talking to. Tú for one friend, usted for one person you address formally, vosotros for a group of friends in Spain, ustedes for any group elsewhere, and vos for one person in Argentina.
Affirmative tú commands
For regular verbs, the affirmative tú command is the same as the él or ella present tense.
| Infinitive | Present (él) | Command (tú) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | habla | speak |
| comer | come | come | eat |
| escribir | escribe | escribe | write |
| cerrar | cierra | cierra | close |
| volver | vuelve | vuelve | come back |
| pedir | pide | pide | ask for, order |
Stem changes stay: cierra, vuelve, pide.
Eight common verbs have a short irregular form.
| Infinitive | Command (tú) | English |
|---|---|---|
| decir | di | say, tell |
| hacer | haz | do, make |
| ir | ve | go |
| poner | pon | put |
| salir | sal | leave, go out |
| ser | sé | be |
| tener | ten | have, take (here) |
| venir | ven | come |
Ve is also the command of ver, “see”, and sé is also “I know”. You tell them apart from the context.
Negative tú commands
For a negative tú command, use no and the present subjunctive. Take the yo present, drop the -o, and add the opposite vowel ending: -es for -ar verbs, -as for -er and -ir verbs.
| Infinitive | yo present | Negative (tú) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablo | no hables | don’t speak |
| comer | como | no comas | don’t eat |
| escribir | escribo | no escribas | don’t write |
| decir | digo | no digas | don’t say |
| hacer | hago | no hagas | don’t do |
| poner | pongo | no pongas | don’t put |
| salir | salgo | no salgas | don’t go out |
| tener | tengo | no tengas | don’t have |
| venir | vengo | no vengas | don’t come |
| ir | voy | no vayas | don’t go |
| ser | soy | no seas | don’t be |
Ir and ser do not follow the yo rule, so learn no vayas and no seas as they are. The spelling changes so that the sound stays the same: buscar gives no busques, pagar gives no pagues, empezar gives no empieces.
Usted and ustedes commands
For usted and ustedes, use the present subjunctive for both affirmative and negative commands.
| Infinitive | usted | ustedes | Negative usted |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | hable | hablen | no hable |
| comer | coma | coman | no coma |
| escribir | escriba | escriban | no escriba |
| decir | diga | digan | no diga |
| hacer | haga | hagan | no haga |
| ir | vaya | vayan | no vaya |
| venir | venga | vengan | no venga |
| dar | dé | den | no dé |
You hear these constantly in service settings: Pase, por favor (come in), Siéntese (sit down), Disculpe (excuse me), Oiga (to get someone’s attention).
Vosotros commands
In Spain, form the affirmative vosotros command by changing the final -r of the infinitive to -d. For the negative, use the subjunctive.
| Infinitive | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablad | no habléis |
| comer | comed | no comáis |
| escribir | escribid | no escribáis |
| venir | venid | no vengáis |
| ir | id | no vayáis |
With the reflexive os, drop the -d: sentad + os becomes sentaos, “sit down”. The one exception is ir: idos, “go away”. In everyday speech in Spain you will also hear the infinitive used as a command, ¡Sentaros!, but in writing use sentaos.
Vos commands
In Argentina, the affirmative vos command is the infinitive without the -r, with the stress on the last syllable. Most irregular tú forms are regular for vos.
| Infinitive | tú | vos |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | hablá |
| comer | come | comé |
| escribir | escribe | escribí |
| decir | di | decí |
| hacer | haz | hacé |
| poner | pon | poné |
| salir | sal | salí |
| tener | ten | tené |
| venir | ven | vení |
For ir, Argentines say andá, from andar: Andá a comprar pan, “Go and buy bread”. Stem changes do not happen with vos: cerrá (close), volvé (come back), pedí (ask for).
The negative is usually the same as for tú: no hables, no digas. You will also hear forms such as no te preocupés in Argentine speech.
Nosotros commands for let’s
For “let’s”, use the nosotros present subjunctive: hablemos (let’s talk), comamos (let’s eat). For “let’s go”, say vamos, and with the pronoun vámonos. With a reflexive verb, the -s drops before nos: sentemos + nos becomes sentémonos.
Where pronouns go
Attach pronouns to the end of an affirmative command. Put them before a negative one.
| Affirmative | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| Siéntate. | No te sientes. | Sit down. / Don’t sit down. |
| Dímelo. | No me lo digas. | Tell me. / Don’t tell me. |
| Cómpralo. | No lo compres. | Buy it. / Don’t buy it. |
| Levántese. | No se levante. | Get up. / Don’t get up. (usted) |
| Llámame. | No me llames. | Call me. / Don’t call me. |
When you attach a pronoun, you usually add a written accent to keep the original stress: compra becomes cómpralo, da becomes dámelo. A single-syllable command with one pronoun has no accent: dame, dile, ponlo.
With vos, the written accent disappears when you attach one pronoun, because the stress now falls on the second-to-last syllable: sentá + te becomes sentate, decí + me becomes decime. With two pronouns it comes back: decímelo.
Making a command polite
A bare command can sound abrupt, and how abrupt depends on the country. You can use these softer forms everywhere:
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pass me the salt? | ¿Me pasas la sal? | Present tense as a request, very common |
| Can you help me? | ¿Me puedes ayudar? | tú |
| Could you repeat that? | ¿Podría repetir? | usted, conditional |
| Please sit down. | Siéntese, por favor. | usted |
| You have to sign here. | Tiene que firmar aquí. | Instruction without a command |
Worked examples
- Ven aquí. Come here.
- Abre la ventana, por favor. Open the window, please.
- No toques eso. Don’t touch that.
- Pase, pase. Come in, come in. (usted)
- Siga todo recto y gire a la izquierda. Go straight on and turn left. (usted, Spain)
- Haz los deberes antes de cenar. Do your homework before dinner. (Spain; in Latin America people say la tarea)
- No te preocupes. Don’t worry.
- Tené cuidado con el perro. Be careful with the dog. (vos)
- Escuchad, esto es importante. Listen, this is important. (vosotros)
- Dígame su nombre, por favor. Tell me your name, please. (usted)
- No se lo digas a tu hermano. Don’t tell your brother.
- Sé paciente, no seas tan duro contigo. Be patient, don’t be so hard on yourself.
Common mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No habla. | No hables. | Use the subjunctive for a negative tú command. |
| No di eso. | No digas eso. | Same rule for irregulars. |
| Hace la cama. | Haz la cama. | The tú command of hacer is haz. |
| Siéntete. (meaning sit down) | Siéntate. | Siéntete comes from sentirse, to feel. |
| Me diga. | Dígame. | Attach the pronoun to an affirmative usted command too. |
| No dímelo. | No me lo digas. | In a negative command, put the pronouns first. |
| Damelo. | Dámelo. | The accent shows the stress on da. |
Regional notes
In Spain people use vosotros commands with groups of friends and family: Venid a cenar. Elsewhere, and in formal settings in Spain, the plural is ustedes: Vengan a cenar. People in Spain also use bare commands more freely in bars and shops, and venga on its own means “come on” or “okay, bye”.
Mexico has its own everyday command words: Pásale and pásele mean “come in”, and Ándale, vámonos is “come on, let’s go”.
In many regions of Colombia, people use usted even with friends and family, so commands are often in the usted form: Venga, le cuento, “Listen, let me tell you”. Regáleme in a shop is “can I have”.
In Argentina, people use vos: Vení, Decime, Pasá. Argentines understand tú forms but do not use them with each other.
Practise it
The Vozelu grammar course has two lessons on this: “Giving commands” and “Everyday commands”. To take them, create an account. In the lessons you read the affirmative and negative forms for each “you”, then you type commands in full sentences and are told what you got wrong, including pronoun position and missing accents.
Questions people ask
How do you form a negative command in Spanish? Use no with the present subjunctive: no hables, no comas, no vengas. Putting no in front of the affirmative form, as in no habla, is a common error.
What are the irregular tú commands? Di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten and ven. Their compounds follow them: mantén, propón, deshaz.
Are Spanish commands rude? A command with por favor is polite. How direct you can be varies: bare commands are normal in bars in Spain, while in Mexico and Colombia a question like ¿Me da…? is more usual.
Why is it siéntate and not siéntete? Sentarse, to sit down, gives siéntate. Sentirse, to feel, gives siéntete, as in siéntete como en casa, “make yourself at home”.
What is the vos command for ir? In Argentina you use andá, from andar: andá, andate.
How do you say “let’s” in Spanish? Use the nosotros subjunctive: hablemos, comamos. For “let’s go”, say vamos or vámonos. You can also use vamos a + infinitive: Vamos a ver, “let’s see”.
When do I use usted commands? With strangers, older people, in shops and services and at work until someone uses tú with you. In Colombia you will hear usted with friends as well.