Reference · module 20
Telling somebody to do it
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Habla, come, escribe
Give a command to tú.
- The tú command is the él form of the present: habla, come, escribe, cierra, vuelve. Nothing is added.
- Eight verbs cut themselves short: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven. Most are one syllable.
- Pronouns attach to a positive command and an accent appears if the stress would move: dime, hazlo, ponlo, dímelo.
The mistake you are about to make
Hace la cama.
Haz la cama.
The tú command is the él form, so hace looks right. Hacer is one of the eight short ones: haz.
No hagas eso
Tell somebody not to.
- A negative command is simply no plus the subjunctive: no hables, no comas, no vengas. There is no separate form to learn.
- The eight short irregulars vanish here: haz becomes no hagas, ven becomes no vengas, sal becomes no salgas.
- The pronouns move back in front: Dímelo but No me lo digas. The positive and the negative look nothing alike.
The mistake you are about to make
No haz eso.
No hagas eso.
"Don't do" just puts a not in front of the command. Spanish changes the verb as well: no hagas.
Siga, pase, vamos
Command politely and to a group.
- The polite command is the subjunctive, positive and negative alike: Pase. Siga. No se preocupe.
- For several people, add an n: Pasen. Siéntense. This is the everyday plural in Latin America.
- Let us do something is the nosotros subjunctive: Hablemos. Except for ir, where everybody says Vamos rather than vayamos.
The mistake you are about to make
Pasa, señor.
Pase, señor.
Pasa is the tú form. With señor you are on usted terms, and that command is the subjunctive: pase.
Instructions and advice
Explain how to do something.
- A recipe or a sign uses se: Se corta la cebolla. Se prohíbe fumar. Nobody in particular is doing it.
- hay que is a general must: Hay que llegar temprano. deber is personal: Debes llegar temprano.
- A command sounds softer as a question or with a conditional: ¿Puedes cerrar la puerta? Deberías descansar.
The mistake you are about to make
Se prohíben fumar.
Se prohíbe fumar.
After se the verb agrees with the thing, and an infinitive counts as singular: se prohíbe fumar.