
leer Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
leer — to read
Give commands with leer: lee (tú), lea (usted), leamos (nosotros), leed (vosotros), lean (ustedes).
leer Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use this to tell someone to read a book, a sign, or a specific page.
Notes on leer in the Affirmative Imperative
The 'tú' form is 'lee' (regular). The 'usted' and 'ustedes' forms are borrowed from the present subjunctive.
Example Sentences
¡Lee este libro, es increíble!
Read this book, it's incredible!
tú
Lea la etiqueta antes de usar el producto.
Read the label before using the product.
Lean las páginas diez a la veinte.
Read pages ten through twenty.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: leya
Correct: lea
Why: Like the present subjunctive, there is no 'y' in the formal command 'lea'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: leo
Leer is regular in the present tense, following standard -er endings: leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen.
Preterite
yo: leí
The preterite of leer features a spelling change where 'i' becomes 'y' in the third-person forms: leyó and leyeron.
Imperfect
yo: leía
The imperfect of leer is regular for -er verbs: leía, leías, leía, leíamos, leíais, leían.
Future
yo: leeré
The future tense of leer is regular: simply add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: leería
The conditional of leer is regular: add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive.
Present Subjunctive
yo: lea
The present subjunctive of leer is regular: lea, leas, lea, leamos, leáis, lean.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: leyera
The imperfect subjunctive of leer uses the 'y' from the preterite: leyera, leyeras, leyera, leyéramos, leyerais, leyeran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no leas
Negative commands for leer always use the present subjunctive forms: no leas, no lea, no leamos, no leáis, no lean.