cobrar Negative Imperative Conjugation
cobrar — to charge (a price)
Negative commands for 'cobrar' use the present subjunctive: no cobres (tú), no cobre (usted), no cobremos (nosotros), no cobren (ustedes), no cobréis (vosotros).
cobrar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use negative commands to tell someone NOT to do something. For 'cobrar', it means instructing someone not to charge a price or fee.
Notes on cobrar in the Negative Imperative
Negative commands in Spanish always use the present subjunctive. Thus, 'cobrar' follows the regular -ar subjunctive pattern here.
Example Sentences
No cobres extra por el retraso.
Don't charge extra for the delay.
tú
No cobre nada si el cliente no está satisfecho.
Don't charge anything if the client isn't satisfied.
usted
No cobremos intereses innecesarios.
Let's not charge unnecessary interest.
nosotros
No cobren por el agua, es gratis.
Don't charge for the water, it's free.
ustedes
No cobréis por adelantado.
Don't charge in advance.
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the indicative instead of the subjunctive: 'No cobras' instead of 'no cobres'.
Correct: The correct negative tú command is 'no cobres'.
Why: All negative commands use the subjunctive mood, which has different endings than the indicative.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent in the vosotros form: 'no cobreis' instead of 'no cobréis'.
Correct: The vosotros negative command 'no cobréis' needs an accent on the 'e'.
Why: The accent is crucial for pronunciation and distinguishing the form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cobro
The present tense of cobrar (cobro, cobras, cobra, etc.) describes habitual actions, current actions, or general truths.
Preterite
yo: cobré
The preterite of cobrar (cobré, cobraste, cobró, etc.) is used for completed actions in the past, like charging a specific amount at a specific time.
Imperfect
yo: cobraba
The imperfect tense of cobrar (cobraba, cobrabas, etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions, or sets the background scene.
Future
yo: cobraré
The future tense of cobrar (cobraré, cobrarás, cobrará, etc.) indicates actions that will happen or expresses probability.
Conditional
yo: cobraría
The conditional tense of cobrar (cobraría, cobrarías, etc.) expresses 'would' actions, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cobre
The present subjunctive of cobrar (cobre, cobres, cobre, cobremos, cobréis, cobren) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cobrara
The imperfect subjunctive of cobrar (e.g., cobrara, cobrara, cobráramos) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cobra
Cobrar's imperative forms give direct commands: cobra (tú), cobre (usted), cobremos (nosotros), cobren (ustedes), cobrad (vosotros).