Commands
Telling someone to do something: ¡Escucha!, ¡Ven!, ¡Haz los deberes!
Learn
Commands, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Form a tú command from the present
A command to one friend uses the he or she form of the present: ¡Habla! (speak), ¡Come! (eat), ¡Escribe! (write). So Marta escucha means Marta listens, but ¡Escucha, Marta! tells her to listen.
Keep the stem change in a command
Stem-changing verbs keep their change: ¡Piensa!, ¡Vuelve a casa!, ¡Pide la cuenta!, ¡Juega con tu hermano!. Find the he or she form of the present and you have the command.
Learn the eight irregular tú commands
Eight verbs have short commands: sé (be), ve (go), ten (have), ven (come), haz (do or make), di (say), pon (put) and sal (go out). ¡Haz los deberes! and ¡Ven aquí! use two of them.
Join a pronoun to the end of the command
Pronouns join the end of a positive command: ¡Dime!, ¡Ayúdame!, ¡Levántate!, ¡Cómelo! If that puts the stress on the third syllable from the end, add an accent; a one-syllable command with one pronoun needs none, as in dime, hazlo and ponte.
Punctuate a command and make it polite
Spanish puts an upside-down exclamation mark at the start as well as one at the end: ¡Mira! Add por favor to turn an order into a polite request: Pásame el pan, por favor.
Spot commands in notices, adverts and messages
Commands appear in instructions, adverts and messages: ¡Visita nuestra tienda!, Llama hoy, Ven a mi fiesta el sábado. In a reading text, a verb at the start of a sentence with no subject is often a command.
Give a command to more than one friend with the vosotros formHigher only
For vosotros, change the final r of the infinitive to d: ¡Hablad!, ¡Comed!, ¡Venid! With os on the end, the d drops: ¡Levantaos!, ¡Lavaos las manos!
Commands key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Imperative
- The form of a verb used to give an order, an instruction or advice: ¡Escucha! means listen.
- tú command
- An order to one friend or family member, for most verbs the same as the he or she present: ¡Mira! means look.
- ven
- Come, the irregular command of venir: ¡Ven aquí! means come here.
- haz
- Do or make, the irregular command of hacer: ¡Haz los deberes! means do your homework.
- pon
- Put, the irregular command of poner: ¡Pon la mesa! means set the table.
- ten
- Have, the irregular command of tener: ¡Ten cuidado! means be careful.
- sé, ve, di and sal
- Be, go, say and go out, the other four irregular commands: ¡Ve a casa! means go home, and ¡Di la verdad! means tell the truth.
- vosotros commandHigher only
- An order to two or more friends: the infinitive with its final r changed to d, as in ¡Escuchad!, listen.
- por favor
- Please, added to make a command polite: Ayúdame, por favor means help me, please.
Common mistakes in Commands
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Using the infinitive for a command, as in ¡Escuchar!
A command to one friend uses the he or she form of the present, so write ¡Escucha! and ¡Come! instead.
Writing ¡Hace! or ¡Pone! for the irregular verbs.
Eight verbs have short commands to learn: haz, pon, ven, ten, sal, di, ve and sé.
Putting the pronoun before the command, as in ¡Me ayuda!
In a positive command, the pronoun joins the end: ¡Ayúdame! On its own, me ayuda means he or she helps me.
Leaving the accent off when a pronoun is added, as in Escuchame.
Adding a pronoun to a command of two syllables or more puts the stress on the third syllable from the end, which needs a written accent: ¡Escúchame! and ¡Cómelo! both have one.
Dropping the stem change, as in ¡Volve! or ¡Pensa!
A command keeps the stem change of the he or she form: ¡Vuelve!, ¡Piensa!, ¡Pide!. Check the present first.
Practice
Try a Commands question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
It is time for dinner. Which tú command completes the sentence? ___ las manos antes de comer.
- Te lava
- Lavarte
- Lávate
- Lavo
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Lávate
Lavarse is reflexive, and in a command the pronoun goes on the end: lava + te = lávate, with an accent to keep the stress on la. Lávate las manos antes de comer means Wash your hands before eating.
- You wash your own hands, so the reflexive lavarse with te.
- In a command the pronoun is added to the end: lavate.
- The stress stays on la, so it needs an accent: lávate.