animar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
animar — to encourage
Use the imperative of animar for direct commands like 'anima' (you, informal) or 'animen' (you all, formal).
animar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
The imperative is used for direct commands or requests. For 'animar', you might use it to tell someone to cheer up or to encourage someone to do something.
Notes on animar in the Affirmative Imperative
The imperative of animar is regular for -ar verbs. The 'tú' form drops the final 'r' and adds 'a' (anima), and other forms follow standard patterns.
Example Sentences
¡Anima, que tú puedes!
Cheer up, you can do it!
tú
¡Animen a su equipo!
Cheer for your team!
Animadlos, ¡sois los mejores!
Encourage them, you are the best!
vosotros
Anime a todos a participar.
Encourage everyone to participate.
usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the present indicative instead of the imperative for a command.
Correct: Instead of 'Tú animas el grupo', say '¡Anima el grupo!'
Why: The imperative mood is specifically for giving commands, while the present indicative describes current actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'animad' for vosotros when it's reflexive.
Correct: If reflexive, it's 'animaos', not 'animados'. However, the non-reflexive is 'animad'.
Why: Adding 'os' to the imperative requires careful placement and pronunciation.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'animar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: animo
The present tense of 'animar' ('animo', 'animas', 'anima') describes current actions of encouraging or cheering, or habitual actions.
Preterite
yo: animé
The preterite of 'animar' (like 'animé', 'animaste', 'animó') describes completed actions of encouraging or cheering in the past.
Imperfect
yo: animaba
The imperfect of 'animar' ('animaba', 'animabas', 'animaba') describes ongoing or habitual encouragement in the past.
Future
yo: animaré
The future tense of 'animar' ('animaré', 'animarás', 'animará') indicates actions of encouraging that will happen later.
Conditional
yo: animaría
The conditional of 'animar' ('animaría', 'animarías', 'animaría') is used for hypothetical encouragement ('would encourage') or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: anime
The present subjunctive of 'animar' (like 'anime' or 'animes') is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: animara
The imperfect subjunctive of 'animar' (like 'animara' or 'animase') expresses past doubts, wishes, or hypothetical situations.
Negative Imperative
yo: no animes
Form negative commands for 'animar' using 'no' plus the present subjunctive, like 'no animes' (don't encourage).