¡Hola a todos!

In this Spanish video lesson we will see how to give orders, instructions and suggestions using Spanish Imperatives.

We will look at how to make regular Spanish Imperatives for Spanish verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir. Then we will look at how to make irregular Spanish Imperatives and finally we will see examples of Spanish imperatives in use in typical sentences.

Spanish Imperatives are more complicated to construct than English Imperatives because Spanish Imperatives change according to who we are speaking to and whether we wish to speak formally or informally. In English the verb doesn’t change from its base form. For example we would say: “open the window”, “come here”, “stop the car”, “speak slower”, etc. Using imperatives in Spanish is a little more tricky.

Firstly let’s see how to make regular Spanish Imperatives:

-AR: For example: Mirar:

• (Tú) Mira: Look (friendly)
• (Usted) Mire: Look (formal)
• (Vosotros/as) Mirad: Look (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) Miren: Look (group/formal)

-ER: For example: Comer:

• (Tú) Come: Eat (friendly)
• (Usted) Coma: Eat (formal)
• (Vosotros/as) Comed: Eat (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) Coman: Eat (group/formal)

-IR: For example: Abrir:

• (Tú) Abre: Open (friendly)
• (Usted) Abra: Open (formal)
• (Vosotros/as) Abrid: Open (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) Abran: Open (group/formal)

Now let’s see some irregular Spanish Imperatives:

• Oir: oye, oiga, oid, oigan: Listen/hear
• Salir: sal, salga, salid, salgan: Leave
• Hacer: haz, haga, haced, hagan: Do/make
• Poner: pon, ponga, poned, pongan: Put
• Venir: ven, venga, venid, vengan: Come
• Decir: di, diga, decid, digan: Say/tell
• Tener: ten, tenga, tened, tengan: Have
• Ir: ve, vaya, id, vayan: Go

Now I will show you some example sentences of Spanish Imperatives in use:

To give instructions:

• Coja la primera calle a la derecha: Take the first street on the right (formal)
• Giren a la izquierda: Turn left (group/formal)

To give orders:

• Lava los platos: Wash the dishes (friendly)
• Comed todo el pescado: Eat all the fish (group/friendly)

To give advice or suggestions:

• Tome estas pastillas: Take these tablets (formal)
• Beban mucha agua: Drink a lot of water (group/formal)

To get the attention of someone:

• Mira: Look (friendly)
• Perdone: Excuse me (formal)

To invite or offer:

• Entra: Come in (friendly)
• Pasen: Come in (group/formal)

Spanish Imperatives are a little tricky to remember, but relax, take it steady and don’t try to remember every verb in the imperative immediately. With time and practice you will have no trouble in remembering and using regular and irregular Spanish Imperatives very well.

Time and practice is the key as always, as is actually using what we are learning in real conversation. I hope by now that you have found someone to practice speaking with. Sometimes this is not so easy, when you don’t have native Spanish speakers around you, but the internet can come to your rescue. There are many very good online Spanish teachers offering one to one or group classes via Skype and also many other people who offer exchange sessions where you get to practice some Spanish in return for a bit of English practice.

I wish you the best of luck with this and look forward to seeing you next time.

Adios

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