Spanish Commands: How to Tell People What to Do

The imperative mood — giving instructions, making requests, telling someone what to do. Here is the complete guide.

Commands are everywhere in Spanish. "Speak to me." "Eat your food." "Don't go." "Listen to me." Whether you are giving directions, ordering food, or telling a friend to hurry up, you need the imperative mood.

The tricky part: Spanish commands change depending on who you are talking to (tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes) and whether you are telling them to do something (affirmative) or not do something (negative).

Affirmative Tú Commands

For most verbs, the affirmative tú command is the same as the él/ella/usted form of the present tense:

• hablar → habla (speak!)
• comer → come (eat!)
• vivir → vive (live!)
• estudiar → estudia (study!)
• correr → corre (run!)

The 8 Irregular Tú Commands

These do not follow the pattern. You must memorize them:

Verb	Command	Meaning	Memory trick
decir	di	say!	—
hacer	haz	do/make!	—
ir	ve	go!	Same as "ver" command — context tells you which
poner	pon	put!	—
salir	sal	leave!	—
ser	sé	be!	Has accent mark
tener	ten	have!	—
venir	ven	come!	—

Memory trick: Vin Diesel has ten weapons — Ven, Sal, Haz, Di, Ten, Ve, Pon, Sé. (Not the most elegant, but it works.)

Negative Tú Commands

Negative commands use the opposite vowel and add -s:

• hablar → no hables (do not speak)
• comer → no comas (do not eat)
• vivir → no vivas (do not live)
• estudiar → no estudies (do not study)

Rule: -ar verbs use -es ending. -er/-ir verbs use -as ending. The opposite of what you would expect.

Negative commands of the irregular verbs follow the subjunctive form:

• decir → no digas
• hacer → no hagas
• ir → no vayas
• poner → no pongas
• ser → no seas
• tener → no tengas

Usted Commands (Formal)

Use usted commands for people you do not know well, elders, or formal situations. They use the subjunctive form:

• hablar → hable (speak — formal)
• comer → coma (eat — formal)
• vivir → viva (live — formal)
• Negative: no hable, no coma, no viva

Ustedes Commands (Plural)

In Latin America, this is the plural command for any group. Same as usted but with -n:

• hablen (speak — you all)
• coman (eat — you all)
• vivan (live — you all)
• Negative: no hablen, no coman, no vivan

Nosotros Commands (Let's...)

These mean "let's do X" — equivalent to English "let's go, let's eat, let's study":

• hablar → hablemos (let's speak)
• comer → comamos (let's eat)
• vivir → vivamos (let's live)
• Negative: no hablemos (let's not speak)

The exception: ir → vamos (let's go) in affirmative. Negative: no vayamos.

Pronoun Placement with Commands

With affirmative commands, pronouns attach to the end:

• Hazlo = Do it!
• Dímelo = Tell it to me!
• Ponte el abrigo = Put on your coat!

With negative commands, pronouns go before:

• Lo hagas no → WRONG. No lo hagas = Do not do it!
• Me lo digas no → WRONG. No me lo digas = Do not tell me!

Regional Differences

Commands have significant regional variation:

• Mexico: Uses tú commands informally, usted for respect. Standard.
• Colombia: Heavy use of usted even in casual settings. Friends use usted with each other. Commands like "deme" (give me) are normal between friends.
• Argentina: Uses vos commands: hablá (speak), comé (eat), viví (live). Negative: no hables, no comas, no vivas — same as tú negative. Irregular: decí (say), hacé (do), ve (go), poné (put), salí (leave), sé (be), tené (have), vení (come).
• Spain: Uses vosotros commands: hablad, comed, vivid. Negative: no habléis, no comáis, no viváis. These do not exist in Latin American Spanish.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the infinitive. "No comer" (wrong) instead of "No comas" (do not eat). Commands require conjugation, not the infinitive.

2. Mixing affirmative and negative forms. "No habla" (wrong) instead of "No hables." The negative command uses the opposite vowel ending.

3. Forgetting accent marks on attached pronouns. "Dilo" (wrong) instead of "Dílo." When pronouns attach to the end of a command, the stress often shifts, requiring an accent mark.

4. Using tú form with usted. "Señor, habla más despacio" (wrong) instead of "Señor, hable más despacio." Match the command form to the level of formality.

How to Practice Commands

Commands are best learned in context — giving directions, making requests, cooking recipes, telling friends what to do. You need to produce them in real conversation to make them automatic.

Lingo Kaiava lets you practice giving and receiving commands in real conversation with an AI tutor. You talk — and when you say "no comer" instead of "no comas," the AI corrects you naturally and keeps the conversation going.