LOS MANDATOS – ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Positive tú commands
POSITIVE TÚ COMMANDS (REGULAR)
Simply put the verb in the él / ella / Ud. form of the present tense to command someone you know well.
For example:Drink the milk!= Bebe la leche.
Buy the red shirt!=Compra la camisa roja.
Write your name!=Escribe tu nombre.
POSITIVE TÚ COMMANDS (IRREGULAR)
There are eight irregular positive tú commands:
tener:tenTen cuidado.Have caution.
venir:venVen conmigo.Come with me.
poner:ponPonte el abrigo.Put on the coat.
salir:salSal de aquí.Leave here.
decir:diDi la verdad.Say the truth.
ser:séSé simpático.Be nice.
ir:veVe al supermercado.Go to the supermarket.
hacer:hazHaz la tarea.Do the homework.
POSITIVE TÚ COMMANDS WITH REFLEXIVE VERBS
Reflexive actions just express “myself,” “yourself,” etc.
me(myself)nos (ourselves)
te(yourself)
se(himself)se(themselves)
(herself)(yourselves)
(yourself—formal)
With positive tú commands that are reflexive, the pronoun must go at the end of the command. Since you have added an extra syllable, write in an accent to keep the original sound.
For example:Brush your teeth.=Cepíllate los dientes.
Comb your hair.=Péinate el pelo.
Wash your face.=Lávate la cara.
RID: “REFLEXIVE, INDIRECT, DIRECT”
When you are tacking on multiple pronouns to a command, as with “Buy meit!” or “Put them on yourself!,” the pronouns always follow the order of “RID.”
Reflexive pronouns get first place after the command.menos
used to express “self”te
sese
Indirect object pronouns get second place.menos
for/to (me, you, him/her, us, them/you-all)te
leles
Direct object pronouns get last place.menos
(me, you, it/him/her, us, them/you-all)te
lo/lalos/las
LOS MANDATOS – ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
All other commands
All other REGULAR COMMANDS
You can also use the following commands in Spanish:
negative tú commands
positive/negative Ud. commands
positive/negative nosotros commands(In English, the equivalent would be “let’s ___!”)
positive/negative Uds. commands
For all other commands you must use opposite endings.
–AR verbs use –ER/–IR endings
–ER/-IR verbs use –AR endings
Ex.: Don’t drink the milk. No bebas la leche. Ex. Don’t buy that!No compres eso.
(No) beba (Ud.) la leche.(No) compre (Ud.) eso.
(No) bebamos la leche.(No) compremos eso.
(No) beban (Uds.) la leche.(No) compren eso.
All other IRREGULAR COMMANDS
TúUd.Nosotros/asUds.
dar:no des(no) dé(no) demos(no) den
ir:no vayas(no) vaya(no) vayamos(no) vayan
estar:no estés(no) esté(no) estemos(no) estén
ser:no seas(no) sea(no) seamos(no) sean
saber:no sepas(no) sepa(no) sepamos(no) sepan
For example:Don’t go alone.=No vayas solo.
Don’t be cruel.=No seas cruel.
All other COMMANDS WITH REFLEXIVE VERBS
When giving a negative tú command with a reflexive verb, the pronoun must go before the command, requiring no accent to be added
For example:Don’t brush your teeth.=No te cepilles los dientes.
Don’t comb your hair.=No te peines el pelo.
Don’t wash your face.=No te laves la cara.
RID: “REFLEXIVE, INDIRECT, DIRECT”
When you are tacking on multiple pronouns to a command, as with “Buy meit!” or “Put them on yourself!,” the pronouns always follow the order of “RID.”
Reflexive pronouns get first place after the command.menos
used to express “self”te
sese
Indirect object pronouns get second place.menos
for/to (me, you, him/her, us, them/you-all)te
leles
Direct object pronouns get last place.menos
(me, you, it/him/her, us, them/you-all)te
lo/lalos/las
1