The Imperative: Giving Commands

The Imperative Mood is used to give commands, orders, or make requests. In stories, characters use it all the time.

Main Rule: Regular Affirmative Commands

Giving a command to someone you would call tú (informal 'you') is very simple for regular verbs:

• -ar verbs: Use the él/ella/usted form of the present tense. For example, from hablar, the tú form is hablas. Just drop the -s to get the command: ¡Habla! (Speak!)
• -er verbs: Same rule! From comer, the tú form is comes. Drop the -s: ¡Come! (Eat!)
• -ir verbs: You guessed it! From vivir, the tú form is vives. Drop the -s: ¡Vive! (Live!)

It's that easy! It's just the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) form of the present tense.

For vosotros (informal 'you' plural, used in Spain):

• Drop the -r from the infinitive and add -d.
• Hablar -> ¡Hablad! (Speak!)
• Comer -> ¡Comed! (Eat!)
• Escribir -> ¡Escribid! (Write!)

A Note on Irregular Commands

Like in English, some of the most common verbs are irregular. You might see short commands in your reading like ¡Ven! (Come!), ¡Di! (Say!), ¡Haz! (Do/Make!), or ¡Ve! (Go!). Don't worry about memorizing these right now. This drill will focus only on the main, regular pattern to help you build a solid foundation.