1. Spanish Commands

2. How do I tell someone what to do in Spanish?¿?

3. In English, it’s easy to give a command to someone.
Stand up!
Sit down!
Do your homework!
Clean your room!

4. We simply use the base verb form without the subject.
(With commands, the subject is always an understood “you.”)
Be careful.
Drive slowly.
Don’t touch that!
Hurry up.

5. In Spanish, commands are slightly more challenging because there are so many ways to say “You”
Tú – you familiar, singular
Usted – you formal, singular
Vosotros – you familiar, plural
Ustedes – you formal, plural

6. Tú: “you”, familiar, singular
We will look at all four versions of Spanish Commands. First, we’ll begin with
Tú: “you”, familiar, singular
More specifically, we will look at positive tú commands telling someone what to do (as opposed to negative, what not to do.)

7. Positive Tú Commands:
Positive tú commands are the easiest of all the commands to learn. You’ve actually already learned them!
Positive tú commands are formed by saying the 3rd person singular of the verb to the person of whom you are giving the command.

8. ¿? Positive Tú Commands: Let’s try it with Comer
That’s right. Even though our subject is “tú” when giving a command, we use the 3rd person singular of the verb to address our peers or subordinates. ¿?
Let’s try it with Comer

9. Comer - to eat Positive Tú Commands: como comemos comes coméis come
comen

10. Positive Tú Commands: is the 3rd person singular of the verb.
como
comemos
comes
coméis
come
comen
come
is the 3rd person singular of the verb.
We will now use come as a command in our sentence.

11. Positive Tú Commands: Come tu cena. Eat your dinner.
¡Come más rápida! Eat faster!

12. Positive Tú Commands: [Tú] Come las verduras.
It is understood that the person to whom you are speaking is the subject of the sentence.
Therefore, it is not necessary to begin the sentence with “Tú.”
[Tú] Come las verduras.

13. El Vocabulario: Barrer el piso - To sweep the floor
Cortar el césped To cut the grass
Hacer la limpieza To do the cleaning
Lavar los platos To wash the dishes

14. El Vocabulario: Limpiar el cuarto - To clean the room
Pasar la aspiradora To vacuum
Planchar To iron
Quitar el polvo To dust
Sacar la basura To take out the trash

15. “Pasa la aspiradora, por favor.”
What is the command for
“Vacuum the floor, please.”
“Pasa la aspiradora, por favor.”

16. “Corta el césped, por favor.”
What is the command for
“Cut the grass, please.”
“Corta el césped, por favor.”

17. “Plancha la ropa, por favor.”
What is the command for
“Iron the clothes, please.”
“Plancha la ropa, por favor.”

18. “Saca la basura, por favor.”
What is the command for
“Take out the trash, please.”
“Saca la basura, por favor.”

19. “Lava los platos, por favor.”
What is the command for
“Wash the dishes, please.”
“Lava los platos, por favor.”

20. Some irregulars: Decir - Di Ser - Sé Poner - Pon Ir - Ve Salir - Sal
There are few irregular verbs that do not take on the 3rd person singular of the verb. They are:
Decir - Di
Poner - Pon
Salir - Sal
Tener - Ten
Venir - Ven
Ser Sé
Ir Ve
Hacer - Haz

21. Decir – To tell
(+) Tú Command: Di
Di la verdad.
-Tell the truth.

22. Salir – To leave
(+) Tú Command: Sal
Sal a las diez.
-Leave at 10:00.

23. Poner – To put/place
(+) Tú Command: Pon
Pon la mesa.
-Set the table.

24. Pronoun
Placement
Rules

25. Pronoun Placement Rules For Commands:
Pronouns: me, te, nos, os, lo/la, los/las, le, les, se
#1 – Affirmative Commands – After & Attached to the verb
#2 – Negative Commands – Before the verb

26. Now conjugate the Positive Tú Command Levantar:
Let’s try LEVANTARSE
Since our subject is understood to be “tú” our Reflexive Pronoun will be: te
Now conjugate the Positive Tú Command Levantar:
levanta

27. te levanta Let’s try LEVANTARSE /
Since our command is affirmative, attached the pronoun to the end of the verb. te
Finally, since you added a syllable, add an accent to preserve the pronunciation. /
levanta