Notes on informal commands (SPAN 2312-Fall 2018 ) PDF

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INFORMAL (“Tú”) COMMANDS Informal commands are used in informal/relaxed situations, for instance, with your best friend, your dad, your boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. In Spanish, commands have different formation rules, depending on factors such as the level of formality of the situation, the number of people you are addressing, and whether the command is positive or negative. There are two types of informal commands: (1) Affirmative tú commands. We use these verbs to tell someone with whom you have a close relationship to do something. The rule says we have to use the él/ella form of the present indicative. It does sound a bit strange to use the él /ella form in contexts like this one. After all, you are talking to the person directly, so it sounds more logical to use tú instead. Nonetheless, that’s the rule, so there’s nothing that you can do other than remembering it. Let’s practice with the affirmative tú commands of three verbs: cantar, aprender, and escribir. As you can see below, these verbs have been fully conjugated in the present indicate. The forms highlighted in yellow are the él /ella form, precisely the form that we need for our affirmative commands: Cantar  Canto, Cantas, Canta, Cantamos, Cantáis / Cantan, Cantan Aprender  Aprendo, Aprendes, Aprende, Aprendemos, Aprendéis / Aprenden, Aprenden Escribir  Escribo, Escribes, Escribe, Escribimos, Escribís / Escriben, Escriben Examples: ¡Canta esa canción otra vez! (“Sing that song again!”) ¡Aprende español! (“Learn Spanish!”) ¡Escribe la respuesta correcta! (“Write the correct answer!”) There are some exceptions the rule, though. Specifically, the following verbs do not use the él/ella form of the present indicative as the basis for the affirmative tú command. So, you will have to memorize these irregular commands. Verb  Affirmative “tú” command Decir Di Hacer  Haz Ir Ve Poner  Pon Salir Sal Ser  Sé Tener  Ten Venir  Ven

Example Di la verdad  “Tell the truth” Haz la cama  “Make the bed” Ve a clase  “Go to class” Pon el libro en la mesa  “Put the book on the table” ¡Sal de esta casa ahora! “Leave this house now!” Sé inteligente  “Be smart” Ten fé  “Have faith” Ven aquí  “Come here”

(2) Negative tú commands. As its name implies, we use this type of command to tell our best friend / son / daughter / classmate / etc. not to do something. The rule is “No + tú form of the present subjunctive.” So, remember: for the affirmative type, we use the present indicative; when we make the command negative, we use the present subjunctive. Some examples follow: 1

¡No comas en ese restaurante! ‘Don’t eat at that restaurant!’ ¡No hagas ruido! ‘Don’t make any noise!’ ¡No vayas a ese país! ‘Don’t go to that country!’ ¡No compres ese libro! ‘Don’t buy that book!’ ¡No veas esa película! ‘Don’t watch that film!’

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