Tú Tú commandscommands

ExplanationA command is an order: “Shut up,” “Sit

down,” “Bring me some chocolate,” etc. What you’re learning here is how to tell a friend (i.e., someone with whom you would use “tú”) to shut up, sit down, and bring you some chocolate.

AFFIRMATIVE CommandsHere’s how you form affirmative tú commands:

Conjugate the verb in the regular present tense:hablar hablascomer comesvolver vuelves

Now, take off the s:hablacomevuelve

And there you have the tú affirmative command.

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on your paper,

click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one.

entender ? Answer: entiende

leer ? Answer: lee

traer ? Answer: trae

cerrar ? Answer: cierra

Irregular verbsIrregular verbs

Did you really, really think it would be that simple? Sorry. There are always irregular verbs. But you don’t have many. And there aren’t a bunch of endings to learn like there are with the preterite, because you’re dealing with only one person—tú.

And heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeee they are:

decir di venir ven salir sal ir ve hacer haz ser sé poner pon tener ten

These verbs are irregular only in the affirmative! Not in the negative!!!! You’re about to be introduced to the formation of negative verbs, and they have their OWN irregularities! You absolutely cannot say, “No sal ahora”! That’s wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pronoun Position

Do you remember where you put object pronouns with AFFIRMATIVE Ud. commands? Well, that’s where you put them with AFFIRMATIVE tú commands: on the end of the command.

Cómelo.Háblame.

Dime la verdad.

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on

your paper, click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one.

ganarlo Answer: gánalohablarme Answer: háblamecreerla Answer: créelapedírmelo Answer: pídemelo

Meaning• Habla ahora. = “Talk now.”• Come ahora. = “Eat now.”• Vuelve ahora. = “Return now.”

• So if I tell you to write a sentence using a command, you can’t write, for example, “Come ayer.” Duh. That would mean, “Eat yesterday.”

NEGATIVE Commands The BAD news: Negative tú commands are totally

different from affirmative. Sorry. Nobody asked me what I thought about doing it this way.

The GOOD news: Remember Ud. commands? Well, negative tú commands are EXACTLY like Ud. commands, except that they have an s on them.

More bad news: If you didn’t learn the Ud. commands when you were supposed to, guess what.

Sooo . . .Go to the first person singular of a verb

Traer no traigo Pensar no pienso

And drop the o

Traigo no traig_ Pensar no piens_

And then add the opposite ending (-as for –er and –ir verbs, -es for –ar verbs)

Traig_ NO traigas Piens_ NO pienses

DON’T FORGET THE S!

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write

one on your paper, click to check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one.

NO traerAnswer: no traigas

NO pensarAnswer: no pienses

NO salirAnswer: no salgas

NO dormirAnswer: no duermas

Can you guess which verbs will be irregular when they’re negative? Remember that they’re NOT the same verbs that are irregular in the present. Take a second and think about it. If you really think about how you’re forming the negative command, the five (hint) irregular verbs will make sense to you.

Irregular negative tú commands The five irregular commands are the

following:

ser no seas saber no sepas ir no vayas estar no estés dar no des

Do they look familiar? These are the five irregular Ud. commands. The ONLY difference between Ud. commands

and negative tú commands is that the negative tú commands have an s.

Pronoun Position

One last step: remember that, just like you did with Ud. commands, you have to put the object pronoun BEFORE a negative command.

No lo hagas.No me ayudes.

Exercise Now change these verbs into commands. Write one on your paper, click to

check your answer, and then click to go on to the next one.

NO traerlo Answer: no lo traigas

NO perderlas Answer: no las pierdas

NO cerrarlo Answer: No lo cierres

NO ponerlos Answer: No los pongas

NO leérmelo Answer: no me lo leas

OK, here it all is in a nutshell: 1. Affirmative commands: A. Conjugate the verb as a regular present tense verb and take off the s.

comes come hablas hablaB. Learn the eight irregular verbs:

decir di venir ven salir sal ir ve hacer haz ser sé poner pon tener ten

C. Put pronouns on the end of affirmative commands:

Cómelo. Hazlo. 2. Negative commands: A. Drop the o off the first person singular and add the opposite ending, including an s:

digo no digas cierro no cierres B. Memorize the five irregular negative commands:

ser no seassaber no sepasir no vayasestar no estésdar no des

C. Put pronouns in front of negative commands:

No lo digas. No me lo des.

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