The Imperative Formal Commands in Spanish

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The ImperativeFormal Commands in Spanish

• Español 1

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Commands in English

• are pretty easy. You just use a base verb form
  (without a subject, since its always you) to
  tell people what they should do
• Stand up!
• Sit down!
• Do your homework!
• Take out the garbage!
• Be quiet!

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Commands in English

• and what they shouldnt do
• Dont write in your books!
• Dont speak English in Spanish class!
• Dont be silly!

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Commands in Spanish

• are little more complicated because we have so
  many ways of saying you
• Tú informal, singular
• Vosotros informal, plural
• Ud. formal, singular
• Uds. formal, plural
• However, we will concentrate on the formal
  commands only.

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Lets look at a few examples!

• Hable despacio, por favor.
• Repita, por favor.!
• Siéntese Ud. aquí.
• Entreguen Uds. la tarea.
• Hagan el ejercicio B.
• No hagan el ejercicio A.
• No se levante Ud.!
• No corran en la clase!

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Regular Formal commands (affirmative AND negative)
yo

• Start with the form of the verb
• Drop the
• 3. Then put on the

O.
opposite personal ending.
(Ud./Uds./Nosotros)
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Formal Commands (/-)

• -ar verbs -er/-ir verbs
• Ud.
• Nosotros
• Uds.

habl
corr
E
A
corr
AMOS
habl
EMOS
corr
AN
habl
EN
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Lets try a couple!

• Comer ______ Ud.!
• Coma Ud.!
• Escribir _____ Ud.!
• Escriba Ud.!
• Tomar _____ Ud.!
• Tome Ud.!
• Entregar _____ la tarea!
• Entregue la tarea!
• Note the spelling change because of the final g
  sound.

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Uds

• Entreguen Uds. la tarea.
• Right! Just add an N to the command form when
  you are talking to more than one person.

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Lets try a couple more!

• Comer ______ Uds.!
• Coman Uds.!
• Escribir _____ Uds.!
• Escriban Uds.!
• Tomar _____ Uds.!
• Tomen Uds.!
• Comenzar _____ el examen!
• Comiencen el examen!
• Note the spelling change because of the final z.

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-car, -gar, -zar verbs

• Verbs that end in car will have a spelling
  change in which the changes to
• Verbs that end in gar will have a spelling
  change in which the changes to
• Verbs that end in zar will have a spelling
  change in which the changes to

C
QU
G
GU
Z
C
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Práctica

Salgan!
No escriban!
Apague!
No ponga!
Empiecen!
No hablemos!
Cantemos!
No jueguen!
Comamos!
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Commands in Spanish

• For this lesson will concentrate on the formal
  commands only.
• -- Ud. formal, singular
• -- Uds. formal, plural

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HOW DO WE FORM COMMANDS
Regular Formal commands (affirmative AND negative)
yo

• Start with the form of the verb
• Drop the
• 3. Then put on the

O.
opposite personal ending.
(Ud./Uds./Nosotros)
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Formal Commands (/-)

• -ar verbs -er/-ir verbs
• Ud.
• Uds.

habl
corr
E
A
corr
AN
habl
EN
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IR Stem-changers (O-UE Verbs)

• DORMIR MORIR
• Ud. (no) duerma Ud (no) muera
• Uds. (no) duerman Uds (no) mueran

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Some irregulars

• What would a lesson be without a few irregulars
  to make it interesting?? Can you guess where
  these forms come from?
• Haga la tarea.
• Tenga paciencia.
• Salga ahora.
• Vuelva a casa.
• Piense bien.
• Sé bueno!
• Esté tranquila!

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Qué pasa?
These verbs are only irregular in the yo form
of the present tense.

• Haga la tarea.
• (TO DO) Hacer gt yo hago gt -o -a
• Tenga paciencia.
• (TO HAVE) Tener gt yo tengo gt -o -a
• Salga ahora.
• (TO GO OUT) Salir gt yo salgo gt - o -a
• Vuelva a casa.
• - (TO RETURN) Volver gt yo vuelvo gt -o -a
• Piense bien.
• (TO THINK) Pensar gt yo pienso gt -o -e
• These verbs follow the same formula start with
  the yo form, drop the o, and add the opposite
  vowel.

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Sé, esté, dé, sepa, vaya

• These five verbs are very irregular for a good
  reason
• TO BE Ser gt yo soy sea(n)
• TO BE Estar gt yo estoy -este(n)
• TO GIVE Dar gt yo doy -de(n)
• TO KNOW Saber gt yo sé -sepa(n)
• TO GO Ir gt yo voy -vaya (n)
• The yo form does not end in an o, so there is no
  o to drop when forming the command form.

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Terminemos por ahora!

• Thats all for now, but learn this concept well
  the command form will be very important when we
  learn about our last verb form this semester
  the subjunctive.

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PRACTICE

• 1. Buy the book. (comprar) __________ Ud. el
  libro.
• 2. Bring the food. (traer) __________ Uds. la
  comida.
• 3. Don't cry so much. (llorar)No  ___________
  Ud. tanto.
• 4. Don't smoke here, please. (fumar)No  _________
  __ Uds. aquí, por favor.
• 5. Read the book. (leer) Ud. __________el
  libro.
• 6. Go with her. (ir) _____________Uds. con ella.
• .
•  

• 7. Dial the number. (marcar) _____________ Ud.
  el número.
• 8. Don't sleep. (dormir)No ___________  Uds.
• 9. Stir the rice. (agitar)__________ Ud. el
  arroz.
• 10. Listen, please. (oír) ___________ Ud., por
  favor.
• 11. Turn left. (doblar) ___________Ud. a la
  izquierda.
• 12. Open your books. (abrir) ____________Uds.
  sus libros.
• .
•