Commands

To tú: the "he" form

A positive command to someone you call tú is the same as the present "he, she" form.

Eight common verbs have short forms:

• Habla más despacio, por favor.
  Speak more slowly, please.
• Ven aquí.
  Come here.
• Haz los deberes.
  Do your homework.

To usted and ustedes

Commands to usted and ustedes swap the vowel of the ending: -ar verbs take e, and -er and -ir verbs take a. They're built on the "I" form, so its irregularities carry over: tengo, tenga; hago, haga. A few, like ir, have forms of their own: vaya.

• Pase, por favor.
  Come in, please.
• Siga recto.
  Go straight on.

Negative commands

A negative command uses the same swapped vowel, for tú too, with its -s: no hables, no comas, no vengas.

• No hables tan alto.
  Don't speak so loudly.
• No te preocupes.
  Don't worry.
• No toque, por favor.
  Please don't touch.
  to usted

Vosotros

In Spain, a command to vosotros swaps the -r of the infinitive for -d: hablad, comed, venid. Negative: no habléis, no comáis.

Pronouns

Pronouns join the end of a positive command and go before a negative one. Joining them can need an accent mark, to keep the stress where it was.

• Siéntate.
  Sit down.
• Dímelo.
  Tell me.
• No me lo digas.
  Don't tell me.

Softer requests

A bare command can sound abrupt to strangers. A question in the present, with ¿me...?, is often friendlier: ¿Me pasas la sal? "Can you pass me the salt?"