Tú Commands: Affirmative and Negative

Español II

Forming affirmative tú commands

To form the tú commands, simply use the él/ella/Ud. form of the verb in the present tense.› Speak! ¡Habla!› Run! ¡Corre!› Walk! ¡Camina!› Study! ¡Estudia!› Look! ¡Mira!

Irregular affirmative tú commands

There are eight verbs with irregular affirmative tú command forms. These must be memorized.› decir (to say/tell): di› hacer (to do/make): haz› ir (to go): ve› poner (to put/place): pon› salir (to leave/go out): sal› ser (to be): sé› tener (to have): ten› venir (to come): ven

Affirmative tú commands for reflexive verbs

For reflexive verbs, we attach the reflexive pronouns to the end of the command, adding an accent mark. We place the marks on what was the next-to-the-last syllable before we added the pronoun.› Stand up! ¡Levántate!› Go away! ¡Vete!› Sit down! ¡Siéntate!› Wake up! ¡Despiértate!

Forming negative tú commands The negative of tú commands is formed using

the following formula: No + yo form of the verb + opposite vowel + s

› Don’t speak! ¡No hables!› Don’t run! ¡No corras!› Don’t walk! ¡No camines!› Don’t study! ¡No estudies!› Don’t come! ¡No vengas!› Don’t drive! ¡No conduzcas!

Note: If the “yo” form of the verb is irregular, the negative tú command for that verb will also be irregular. Stem-changing verbs will also change in the negative forms.

Negative tú commands for reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs use the same formula; however, the reflexive pronoun is placed between the “no” and the command form.› Don’t stand up! ¡No te levantes!› Don’t go (away)! ¡No te vayas!› Don’t sit down! ¡No te sientas!› Don’t fall asleep! ¡No te duermas!

Irregular negative tú commands

There are five verbs with irregular negative tú commands forms. These must be memorized.

dar (to give): no des estar (to be): no estés ir (to go): no vayas saber (to know): no sepas ser (to be): no seas

Spelling changes (-car and -gar verbs)

Some spelling changes occur to preserve the sound of the infinitives of the verbs used.

In -car verbs, the c changes to qu. In -gar verbs, the g changes to gu.› JUGAR: Don’t play! ¡No juegues!› BUSCAR: Don’t look for…! ¡No busques!› PAGAR: Don’t pay! ¡No pagues!› PRACTICAR: ¡No practiques!