
comprar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
comprar — to buy
The imperative of comprar gives commands: compra (tú), compre (usted), compremos, comprad (vosotros), compren.
comprar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use the imperative to tell someone to buy something, like giving a shopping list to a friend or a polite instruction to a customer.
Notes on comprar in the Affirmative Imperative
Comprar is regular in the imperative. The 'tú' form matches the third-person present indicative.
Example Sentences
Compra leche cuando vayas al súper.
Buy milk when you go to the supermarket.
tú
Compre este producto, es el mejor del mercado.
Buy this product; it is the best on the market.
usted
Compren los boletos ahora antes de que se agoten.
Buy the tickets now before they sell out.
ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: compre (for tú)
Correct: compra
Why: Learners often use the formal 'usted' form (compre) when they mean to speak informally to a friend (compra).
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'comprar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: compro
Comprar is a regular -ar verb in the present: compro, compras, compra, compramos, compráis, compran.
Preterite
yo: compré
The preterite of comprar is regular: compré, compraste, compró, compramos, comprasteis, compraron.
Imperfect
yo: compraba
The imperfect of comprar uses the regular -aba endings: compraba, comprabas, compraba, comprábamos, comprabais, compraban.
Future
yo: compraré
The future of comprar is formed by adding endings to the infinitive: compraré, comprarás, comprará, compraremos, compraréis, comprarán.
Conditional
yo: compraría
The conditional of comprar is regular: compraría, comprarías, compraría, compraríamos, compraríais, comprarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: compre
The present subjunctive of comprar uses -e endings: compre, compres, compre, compremos, compréis, compren.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: comprara
The imperfect subjunctive of comprar is built from the preterite stem: comprara, compraras, comprara, compráramos, comprarais, compraran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no compres
The negative imperative of comprar uses the present subjunctive: no compres, no compre, no compremos, no compréis, no compren.