1. Formal (usted/ustedes) Commands

2. English Connection
In English, we form commands by removing the subject “you”
Statement: You eat vegetables.
Command: Eat the vegetables.

3. Use Ud. Commands: To tell someone respectfully to do something.
To tell someone respectfully to not do something.
If the subject is plural, use Uds. commands.

4. Formation of Ud./Uds. Commands
Begin with the yo form present-tense of the verb
cantar
drop the “o” ending
Then, for Ud. commands, add an –e ending for –ar verbs and an –a ending for –er or –ir ending verbs.
For Uds. commands add an –en for –ar verbs and an –an for –er or –ir ending verbs.
canto
cant o

5. Cantar Ud.- ¡Cante! = Sing! (Speaking to one person)
Uds.- ¡Canten! = Sing! (to more than one person)
To make the command negative, just put “no” in front of the command form.
Ud.- ¡No cante! = Don’t sing!
Uds.-¡No canten! = Don’t sing!

6. -er/-ir ending verbs vend o Vender Venda Vendan No venda No vendan
*Regular –ir ending verbs will end this same way.
vivir viv viva/vivan
vend o o

7. Irregular yo forms Salir Salga Salgan No salga No salgan
*Notice the importance of beginning with the YO form stem.
Salg o

8. Very irregular yo forms
Some verbs have very irregular yo forms and are therefore irregular in the command form…you have to MEMORIZE these irregulars! Ud./Uds Verb Yo form command
Dar (doy) dé/den
Estar (estoy) esté/estén
Ir (voy) vaya/vayan
Saber (sé) sepa/sepan
Ser (soy) sea/sean

9. -car/-gar/-zar Ending Verbs
In order to retain the same sound, -car,
-gar, and –zar ending verbs have a spelling change in the formal command forms.
-car -que/-quen practique/practiquen
-gar -gue/-guen juegue/jueguen
-zar -ce/-cen empiece/empiecen