Master the Imperative Mood to Express Your Spanish Commands

The imperative mood in Spanish is important to learn and, luckily, easy to understand. With the help of this article you will master it in no time! 

As you may know, just like English, Spanish can be divided in grammatical moods and tenses. Tenses refer to time and can be divided into past, present and future. 

To be clear, moods don’t express a moment in time, but instead refer to a manner of expression. This means that moods relate to what the verb expresses. Three Spanish moods include:

1. Indicative mood (modo indicativo) expresses assertion, denial or questions about something.
2. Imperative mood (modo imperativo) expresses a command, a prohibition, request or advice.
3. Subjunctive mood (modo subjuntivo) expresses a wish or a possibility. 

Uses of the Imperative Mood in Spanish

Use the this mood to:

1. Give orders

¡Baja de la mesa! 
Get off the table!

2. Give instructions 

Siga recto, luego cruce a la derecha. 
Go straight, then turn right.

3. Ask for something 

Dame tu videojuego. 
Give me your videogame.

4. Extend an invitation

Vengan a visitarnos.
Come visit us.

5. Give advice

No compren ese auto, no se ve confiable.
Don’t buy that car, it doesn’t look reliable.

6. Give permission

Ve a la fiesta. 
Go to the party.

How To Form the Imperative Mood in Spanish

For imperative sentences to work you need a person who issues the order or suggestion, and a person who receives them. You can’t give orders in the past or the future, which is why the imperative works only in the present. 

For example: 

¡Vete a tu cuarto!
Go to your room!

The informal imperative conjugation of the verb irse is vete (“you go!”) and indicates that the person issuing the order is demanding that you perform a specific action in that precise moment. 

Giving Commands to “You”

Take note that the imperative mood in Spanish can only be applied to the second grammatical person (in other words, “you”), for both formal (usted) and informal (tú) “you,” and in singular and plural. 

As a quick review, the second person pronouns in Spanish are:

• Tú (singular, informal) 
• Usted (singular, formal) 
• Ustedes (plural, formal and informal)
• Vosotros (plural, informal, Spain)
• Vos (singular, slang, Central America)

Fun fact! The pronoun vos has an archaic past when it was used to address kings and others of a higher status. Over the centuries, vos has evolved in Latin America and Spain to become an informal way of saying tú, directed toward those you trust and with whom you have a close relationship. 

How to Conjugate Spanish Commands

Imperative verbs can be affirmative or negative. In order to make an affirmative imperative, you use the 3rd person indicative form. This rule applies to all regular verbs.

To refresh your knowledge on regular verbs check this Exclusive Beginners Guide to Spanish Conjugation.

Affirmative Commands with Regular -AR verbs

Tú: Change the -ar to –a

Usted: Change the –ar to –e

Ustedes: Change the –ar to –en

Vosotros: Change the –ar to –ad

Vos: Change the -ar to -á

Examples:

Caminar (to walk)

Amar (To love)

Cantar (to sing)

Negative Commands with Regular -AR verbs

Negative orders or instructions include a no before the imperative, and slight changes are involved for the pronouns tú, vos, and vosotros. 

Tú: Change the -a to –es

Usted: Add “no”  before the verb

Ustedes: Add  “no” before the verb

Vosotros: Change the -ad to –éis

Vos: Change the -á to -és

Examples:

Caminar (to walk)

Amar (To love)

Cantar (to sing)

Affirmative Commands with Regular -ER Verbs

To use regular verbs that end in –er as an imperative, you’ll switch out the -er ending in the following ways:

Tú: Replace the -er  for –e

Usted: Change the –er at the end for –a

Ustedes: Swap the –er at the end for –an

Vosotros: Trade the –er for –ed

Vos: Change the -er for -é

Comer (to eat)

Acceder (to access)

Aprender (to learn)

Negative Commands with Regular -ER Verbs

Negative commands for -er verbs are similar to -ar verbs in that you add no before the imperative and make slight changes to the verbs for the pronouns tú, vos, and vosotros.

Tú: Change the -e for –as

Usted: Just add a “no”  before the verb

Ustedes: Add “no” before the verb

Vosotros: Change the -ed for –áis

Vos: Change the -é for –ás

Comer (to eat)

Acceder (to access)

Aprender (to learn)

Affirmative Commands with Regular -IR Verbs

To use regular verbs that end in –ir as an imperative, you’ll switch out the -ir ending in the following ways:

Tú: Swap the -ir at the end for –e.

Usted: Replace the –ir for –a.

Ustedes: Change the –ir at the end for –an.

Vosotros: Trade the –ir for –id.

Vos: Change the  –ir  for -í

Asistir (to attend)

Abrir (To open)

Batir (To shake)

Negative Commands with Regular -ER Verbs

Like with the two other verb forms, you add no before the imperative and make slight changes to the verbs for the pronouns tú, vos, and vosotros.

Tú: Change the -e for –as.

Usted: Just add a “no”  before the verb

Ustedes: Just add a “no”  before the verb

Vosotros: Add No and change the -id for –aís.

Vos:  Change the  –í  for -ás

Asistir (to attend)

Abrir (To open)

Batir (To shake)

The Spanish Imperative Mood with Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs conjugate in unique ways that don’t follow the well-known patterns of regular verbs. When you use irregular verbs as an imperative, they change quite a bit.

Some verbs we’ll explore here are ir (to go), ser (to be), and hacer (to do).

Hand-picked for you: How to Use the 50 Most Common Spanish Irregular Verbs

Affirmative Commands with Irregular Verbs

Ir (To go)

Ser (To be)

Hacer (To do)

Negative Commands with Irregular Verbs

In the following examples, you’ll notice that the pronouns tú, vos, and vosotros change slightly:

Tú: use the same verb as with usted, then change the ending to –as.

Vosotros: use the same verb as with usted, then change the ending to –ís.

Vos: use the same verb as with usted, then change the ending to –ás

PRO TIP! Keep in mind that while this technique works for the following examples, it’s not the same for all irregular verbs—which is exactly why they’re considered “irregular” in that they don’t all follow a consistent and predictable pattern. 

Ir (To go)

Ser (To be)

Hacer (To do)

Imperative Mood Practice

Now that you know the basics, is time to put your knowledge to test! 

Exercise 1:

Write the imperative form of the following verbs for each pronoun

Bailar (To Dance)

Recibir (To Receive)

Confirmar  (To Confirm)

Leer (To read)

Cubrir (To cover)

Exercise 2

Circle the sentence that is an Imperative:

a) Pedrito come todas sus verduras.
b)¡Come todas tus verduras! 

a) No correr en los pasillos.
b) No corran en los pasillos.

a) Ven mañana.
b) Desearía que vengas mañana.

a) No duermas tarde.
b) No te vayas a dormir tarde.

a) No tirar basura.
b) No tiren basura.

a) No nades después de comer.
b) No debes nadar después de comer.

a) No coman en clase.
b) No está permitido comer en clase.

a) Deberías hacer más ejercicio.
b) Haz más ejercicio.

a) Tú cambiarás la bombilla mañana.
b) Cambia la bombilla mañana.

a) ¡Vengan aquí!
b) Ustedes vienen aquí. 

Click here to see the answer key!

Being Polite While Using the Imperative Mood

Similar to English, the imperative mood in Spanish can come off as rude or distant, so it’s important to be aware of how you say your commands, instructions, and suggestions.

Some unique situations exist in Spanish-speaking cultures where the use of the imperative mood may not be well-received. 

Specifically:

• If the recipient is older than you
• If the recipient has some kind of authority over you
• If you don’t have any relationship with the recipient

This doesn’t mean that you can’t use imperative sentences in those situations, but being mindful of your body language and your tone of voice is especially important.

Spanish Commands Using Nosotros

If you’d like to make a suggestion that involves you and someone else (or a group), the imperative mood exists using the pronoun nosotros. These commands play the same role as the “let’s” sentences in English.

Nosotros is the Spanish grammatical first person in plural and the imperative verbs are conjugated in the present subjunctive.

Read more: How to Form Nosotros Commands in Spanish

Tomemos agua.
Let’s drink water.

No vayamos hacia allá.
Let’s not go there. 

¡Comamos toda nuestra comida!
Let’s eat all our food!

¡Practica tu español! 

The imperative mood is used in everyday conversations, even when we don’t notice we are using it. For that reason it is important to always practice how to use it correctly and in the right situations. So why don’t you sign up for a free class to learn Spanish 1-on-1 with certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala so you master the imperative mood in no time! 

Ready to learn more Spanish grammar? Check these out!

• Master the Various Uses of ‘Ya’ in Spanish
• Master the Subjunctive in Spanish
• Suceder, Pasar, and Ocurrir: Spanish Verbs Meaning “to Happen”
• A Simple Guide to Spanish Sentence Structure and Order
• Learn to Use Voseo: Vos in Spanish
• How to Write and Pronounce Spanish Accent Marks
• Master the Spanish Alphabet: Letters, Sounds, and Songs for Everyone
• How to Use the Verb ‘Soler’ in Spanish

Answer Key

Exercise 1:

Bailar: Baila, Baile, Bailá, Bailen, Bailad

Recibir: Recibe, Reciba, Recibí, Reciban, Recibid

Confirmar: Confirma, Confirme, Confirmá, Confirmen, Confirmad

Leer: Lee, Lea, Leé, Lean, Leed

Cubrir: Cubre, Cubra, Cubrí, Cubran, Cubrid

Exercise 2: b, b, a, a, b, a, a, b, b, a

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Carmen Rizzo

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I’m a native Spanish speaker from Guatemala with a B.A. in Psychology. I have a passion for teaching Sunday school in my spare time and for learning and sharing valuable information. I'm a cat lover who gets excited over cartoons, anime, and video games. I dabble in digital illustration and animation. I'm inspired by sharing my culture, traditions, food, and beliefs with others, while learning about theirs in return.

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