Severn Spanish

Tú commands II

 

 

Introduction/Review

The affirmative tú commands can be found under Tú commands I.

As a brief reminder, remember that the affirmative tú command -- for a regular verb -- is formed just like the present tense él/ella/Ud. form.

This section will discuss negative tú commands, which are used to tell someone not to do something.

 

Formation

Negative tú commands have simple conjugations, but they might seem a little backwards to you at first. A major thing to note is that, rather than starting with the stem when you conjugate, you want to start with the present-tense yo form.

 

-ar Verbs

regular yo form - o + es = negative command

 

-er/-ir verbs

regular yo form - o + as = negative command

 

Seems mixed up, right? But because the imperative (the mood used for giving orders and commands) is a different mood from the indicative (the mood you use when you use the regular present tense), these are actually correct.

A few more reminders about commands before we move on to the examples. As with affirmative commands, the subject of negative commands is almost always implied, meaning it is not stated directly. Also note that, because the affirmative and negative commands have entirely different conjugations, you need to be very careful when writing or speaking something that combines both affirmative and negative versions.

Examples:

comer → no comas (do not eat)

bailar → no bailes (do not dance)

escribir → no escribas (do not write)

hacer → no hagas (do not do) [Remember to start with the yo form! This may look irregular, but it isn’t.]

 

A few irregulars

dar → no des

estar → no estés

ir → no vayas

ser → no seas