provocar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
provocar — to cause
The imperative of provocar uses the spelling change 'qu' for formal commands: provoca (tú), provoque (usted), provoquen (ustedes).
provocar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use the imperative to command someone to cause (or not cause) an effect, though with 'provocar', it's often used in social contexts or instructions.
Notes on provocar in the Affirmative Imperative
The formal 'usted/ustedes' and 'nosotros' forms use the 'qu' spelling change (from the subjunctive stem). The 'tú' and 'vosotros' forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Provoca un cambio positivo en tu vida.
Cause a positive change in your life.
tú
Provoque una reacción en el público.
Cause a reaction in the audience (formal).
Provoquemos un debate interesante.
Let's cause (start) an interesting debate.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'provoce' for the formal command.
Correct: provoque
Why: Just like the present subjunctive, the formal imperative needs 'qu' to keep the hard 'k' sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: provoco
The present tense of provocar is entirely regular: provoco, provocas, provoca, provocamos, provocáis, provocan.
Preterite
yo: provoqué
The preterite of provocar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes 'c' to 'qu': provoqué.
Imperfect
yo: provocaba
The imperfect of provocar is regular: provocaba, provocabas, provocaba, provocábamos, provocabais, provocaban.
Future
yo: provocaré
The future tense of provocar is regular: provocaré, provocarás, provocará, provocaremos, provocaréis, provocarán.
Conditional
yo: provocaría
The conditional of provocar is regular: provocaría, provocarías, provocaría, provocaríamos, provocaríais, provocarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: provoque
The present subjunctive of provocar requires a spelling change from 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: provoque, provoques, provoque, provoquemos, provoquéis, provoquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: provocara
The imperfect subjunctive of provocar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: provocara, provocaras, provocara, provocáramos, provocarais, provocaran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no provoques
The negative imperative of provocar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no provoques, no provoque, no provoquemos, no provoquen.