caer Negative Imperative Conjugation
caer — to fall
The negative imperative of caer always uses the present subjunctive forms.
caer Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone 'don't fall' or 'don't drop' something.
Notes on caer in the Negative Imperative
Every form uses the 'caig-' stem because it is identical to the present subjunctive.
Example Sentences
¡No te caigas!
Don't fall!
tú
No caiga en la tentación.
Don't fall into temptation (formal).
No caigamos en el mismo error.
Let's not fall into the same mistake.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'no caes'.
Correct: no caigas
Why: Negative commands must use the subjunctive, not the indicative.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: caigo
Caer is irregular only in the 'yo' form (caigo), while the rest follow normal -er patterns.
Preterite
yo: caí
Caer is irregular in the preterite, featuring a 'y' in the third-person forms (cayó, cayeron) and accents on all other endings.
Imperfect
yo: caía
Caer is regular in the imperfect: caía, caías, caía, caíamos, caíais, caían.
Future
yo: caeré
Caer is regular in the future tense: caeré, caerás, caerá, caeremos, caeréis, caerán.
Conditional
yo: caería
The conditional of caer is regular: caería, caerías, caería, caeríamos, caeríais, caerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: caiga
The present subjunctive of caer is based on the irregular 'yo' form: caiga, caigas, caiga, etc.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cayera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'y' from the preterite: cayera, cayeras, cayera, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cae
The imperative uses 'cae' for tú and 'caiga' for formal/plural commands.