servir Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
servir — to serve
Use 'sirve' (tú) or 'sirva' (usted) to tell someone to serve or function.
servir Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use commands to tell a waiter what to do or to tell a friend to serve the drinks at a party.
Notes on servir in the Affirmative Imperative
The 'tú' form uses the present indicative 'sirve'. The 'usted' and 'ustedes' forms use the subjunctive 'sirva/sirvan'.
Example Sentences
Sirve el vino ahora, por favor.
Serve the wine now, please.
tú
Sirva la sopa mientras está caliente.
Serve the soup while it's hot.
usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: serve
Correct: sirve
Why: The informal command (tú) still requires the e > i stem change.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sirvo
Servir is a stem-changer (e > i) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: serví
Servir has a 'slipper' stem change (e > i) in the third-person forms: sirvió and sirvieron.
Imperfect
yo: servía
Servir is regular in the imperfect: servía, servías, servía, servíamos, servíais, servían.
Future
yo: serviré
Servir is completely regular in the future tense; just add the endings to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: serviría
The conditional of servir is regular: serviría, servirías, serviría, serviríamos, serviríais, servirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sirva
Servir changes e > i in all forms of the present subjunctive, including nosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sirviera
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the 'sirvieron' stem: sirviera, sirvieras, sirviera...
Negative Imperative
yo: no sirvas
Negative commands use 'no' + the present subjunctive: no sirvas, no sirva.