The imperative mood
Different moods in Spanish mood- expresses how a speaker feels about an action Indicative mood- indicates what’s true or happening imperative mood- indicates what speaker wants someone else to do
Los mandatos formales Ud. and Uds.
Ud. Usted (you, singular formal) Usted is used to directly address someone older, a person you do not know on a first name basis, a superior, or someone you would like to show a lot of respect.
Uds. Ustedes (you guys) Uds. is used to refer to both familiar and formal groups. Uds. is the only plural “you” form. Ex: Señoras, ¡Uds. no puedan hablar! Ex: Niños, ¡Uds. no puedan correr!
Ud. and Uds. Also note that the subject pronouns Ud. and Uds. may or may not be used. Using them adds a degree of formality or politeness to the command. Hable. Speak. Hable Ud. Speak (sir). (more respectful) Coman Eat. Coma Ud. Eat (sir). (more polite)
How to form affirmative Ud. and Uds. commands 1. Start by dropping –o in the “yo” form of the present tense. Hablar- habl Escribir- escrib o o 2. Then add the opposite ending. ar = e er/ir = a -ar verbs hablar Ud. = e hable Uds. = en hablen -er/-ir verbs escribir Ud. = a escriba Uds.=an escriban
Prática Ma’am, eat! Señora, ¡coma! 2. Kids, don’t talk! Niños, ¡No hablen! 3. listen, Mr. Ruiz. Escuche, Sr. Ruiz. Girls, run! niñas, ¡corran!
Verbs with irregular “yo” forms maintain the same irregularity in their formal commands Tune: La Cucaracha Ud. Uds. Tener yo tengo = tenga tengan Venir Yo vengo = venga vengan *caigo digo oigo voy doy traigo hago estoy conozco pongo sé ofrecer salgo sigo conduzco soy veo * These verbs have not been conjugated in the imperative mood yet.
Verbs that end in –car, -gar, and –zar have a spelling change. Sacar c qu saque saquen Jugar g gu juegue jueguen almorzar z c almuerce almuercen They have the change so it can maintain the sound because then sacar would be sace (sase) jugar-juege (juehe)
Note that stem-changing verbs maintain their stem-change e:ie o:ue e:i Perder= pierda volver= vuelva servir= sirva
Prática salir (Ud.) salga 2. apagar (Uds.) apaguen 3. Poder (Ud.) pueda 4. Conducir (Ud.) conduzca
Irregular Formal Commands use the acronym d-seis Ud. Uds. dar dé den saber sepa sepan estar esté estén ir vaya vayan ser sea sean They are irregular because in the “yo” form they do not have an “o” you can drop dar-doy
To make a formal command negative (don’t), simply place NO before the verb. Ex: No ponga tu libro en el piso. (Don’t put your book on the floor.)
1. In commands, object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb. Placement of reflexive pronouns and object pronouns (me, te,lo,la,le,se,nos,los,las,les) with commands 1. In commands, object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb. 2. Add accent mark. 1 pronoun = 3rd syllable back Siéntense 2 pronouns = 4th syllable back muéstremelo * When a pronoun is attached to an affirmative command that has two or more syllables, an accent mark is added to maintain the original stress. Ex: limpie límpielo lean léanlo diga dígamelo 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 Dé has an accent mark to distinguish it from the preposition (de) 1 2 Dar dé denos (no accent mark when just one pronoun is added)
In negative commands (don’t), object pronouns always goes in front of the verb. Don’t tell me = No me diga Don’t eat it = ¡No lo coma! Don’t buy it for her = No se lo compre a ella
Práctica Sit down (Uds.) siéntense Don’t brush! (Ud.) no se cepille 3. Write it to me. Escríbamelo 4. Give them to me. démelos 5. Don’t wash your hands. No se laven las manos