espiar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
espiar — to spy
The imperative uses the accent-shifted forms: espía (tú), espíe (usted), espiemos (nosotros), espiad (vosotros), espíen (ustedes).
espiar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use to give a direct order to monitor or watch someone closely.
Notes on espiar in the Affirmative Imperative
The 'tú', 'usted', and 'ustedes' forms keep the accent on the 'i' to maintain the correct pronunciation.
Example Sentences
¡Espía a ese hombre y dime a dónde va!
Spy on that man and tell me where he goes!
tú
Espíe usted con cuidado, por favor.
Please spy carefully (formal).
Espiad a la competencia para aprender sus trucos.
Spy on the competition to learn their tricks (plural/informal).
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'espia' without the accent for the 'tú' command.
Correct: espía
Why: Without the accent, it looks like the third-person present indicative and the stress is wrong.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: espío
Espiar is mostly regular but adds an accent on the 'i' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: espié
The preterite of espiar is fully regular: espié, espiaste, espió, espiamos, espiasteis, espiaron.
Imperfect
yo: espiaba
The imperfect of espiar is regular: espiaba, espiabas, espiaba, espiábamos, espiabais, espiaban.
Future
yo: espiaré
The future of espiar is regular: espiaré, espiarás, espiará, espiaremos, espiaréis, espiarán.
Conditional
yo: espiaría
The conditional of espiar is regular: espiaría, espiarías, espiaría, espiaríamos, espiaríais, espiarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: espíe
The present subjunctive follows the accent shift of the present indicative: espíe, espíes, espíe, espiemos, espiéis, espíen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: espiara
The imperfect subjunctive of espiar is regular: espiara, espiaras, espiara, espiáramos, espiarais, espiaran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no espíes
The negative imperative matches the present subjunctive: no espíes, no espíe, no espiemos, no espiéis, no espíen.