matar Negative Imperative Conjugation
matar — to kill
The negative imperative of matar uses the present subjunctive: no mates, no mate, no matemos, no matéis, no maten.
matar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone NOT to kill something or someone, or to stop an action that is 'killing' you (like a joke).
Notes on matar in the Negative Imperative
Matar is regular; the negative commands are identical to the present subjunctive forms.
Example Sentences
¡No mates a la araña! Es buena.
Don't kill the spider! It's good.
tú
No maten el motor todavía.
Don't kill the engine yet.
ustedes
No matemos la esperanza.
Let's not kill hope.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'no mata' for a negative command.
Correct: no mates
Why: Negative tú commands must use the subjunctive form, not the indicative.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: mato
The present tense of matar is regular: mato, matas, mata, matamos, matáis, matan.
Preterite
yo: maté
The preterite of matar is regular: maté, mataste, mató, matamos, matasteis, mataron.
Imperfect
yo: mataba
The imperfect of matar follows the regular -aba pattern: mataba, matabas, mataba, matábamos, matabais, mataban.
Future
yo: mataré
The future of matar is regular: matar + é, ás, á, emos, éis, án.
Conditional
yo: mataría
The conditional of matar is regular: mataría, matarías, mataría, mataríamos, mataríais, matarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: mate
The present subjunctive of matar uses -e endings: mate, mates, mate, matemos, matéis, maten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: matara
The imperfect subjunctive of matar is matara, mataras, matara, matáramos, matarais, mataran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: mata
The affirmative imperative of matar is: mata (tú), mate (usted), matemos (nosotros), matad (vosotros), maten (ustedes).