Regular Verbs in Spanish Imperative

The imperative mood (Imperativo) is an essential aspect of the Spanish language, especially when giving commands, making requests, or offering advice. Whether you’re asking someone to speak (habla), eat (come), or write (escribe), mastering the regular verbs in Spanish Imperative is crucial for everyday communication.

In this article, we’ll dive into the structure and usage of the regular verbs in Spanish imperative, explore its nuances for different subjects, and provide practical examples to help you confidently give directions in various contexts. By the end, you’ll be well-equipped to use these forms naturally and effectively in your conversations.

This article explores how to use regular verbs in Spanish Imperative, a key tool for giving commands, making requests, and offering advice. It breaks down the formation of the imperative for tú, usted, nosotros or nosotras, vosotros or vosotras, and ustedes. While affirmative forms follow specific patterns based on the verb conjugation (-ar, –er, –ir), negative commands derive from the subjunctive mood and we will cover them in a separate article. Understanding this distinction is essential for correct usage in everyday communication. The article provides clear examples to help learners confidently apply affirmative imperative forms.

Typically, imperatives are used with you forms to give commands. In Spanish, there are four you forms (tú, usted, vosotros or vosotras, and ustedes).

However, Spanish also includes a we form in the imperative, used to suggest or encourage collective actions. This form corresponds to let’s…! in English. For example, cantemos (let’s sing!) or comamos (let’s eat!). It suggests an action that everyone in the group should take together. In both affirmative and negative imperatives, the we form includes both the speaker and the listener in the action, making it more of a shared suggestion rather than a direct command.

Affirmative Imperative –Ar Verbs

For those verbs ending in –ar, keep the stem and add the following endings.

	Cantar	Hablar	Bailar
tú	Canta	Habla	Baila
usted	Cante	Hable	Baile
nosotros nosotras	Cantemos	Hablemos	Bailemos
vosotros vosotras	Cantad	Hablad	Bailad
ustedes	Canten	Hablen	Bailen

Canta más fuerte porque queremos escucharte bien.

Sing louder because we want to hear you clearly.

Hable con su jefe sobre la situación, es importante aclarar todo.

Talk to your boss about the situation, it’s important to clear everything up.

Bailemos juntos esa canción, es nuestra favorita.

Let’s dance that song together, it’s our favorite.

Limpiad vuestra habitación antes de salir.

Clean your room before you go out.

Miren por la ventana, es un día precioso.

Look through the window, it is a beautiful day.

Affirmative Imperative –Er Verbs

You simply need to drop the –er and add the following endings.

	Comer	Comprender	Correr
tú	Come	Comprende	Corre
usted	Coma	Comprenda	Corra
nosotros nosotras	Comamos	Comprendamos	Corramos
vosotros vosotras	Comed	Comprended	Corred
ustedes	Coman	Comprendan	Corran

Come más manzanas y menos chocolate. Es mejor para tu salud.

Eat more apples and less chocolate. It’s better for your health.

Comprenda usted nuestra situación. Estamos muy asustados.

Understand our situation. We are very scared.

¡Corramos! El autobús sale dentro de dos minutos.

Let’s run! The bus leaves in two minutes.

Traed las sillas y tocad una canción con la guitarra.

Bring the chairs and play a song on the guitar.

Beban cinco vasos de agua cada día.

Drink five glasses of water every day.

Affirmative Imperative –Ir Verbs

Here you have some examples of –ir verbs in Spanish Imperative.

	Abrir	Subir	Escribir
tú	Abre	Sube	Escribe
usted	Abra	Suba	Escriba
nosotros nosotras	Abramos	Subamos	Escribamos
vosotros vosotras	Abrid	Subid	Escribid
ustedes	Abran	Suban	Escriban

Abre la puerta, por favor. Hay alguien esperando fuera.

Open the door, please. There’s someone waiting outside.

Suba al coche si no quiere llegar tarde a la estación.

Get into the car if you don’t want to be late to the station.

Escribamos despacio. Podemos usar tinta negra o azul.

Let’s write slowly. We can use black or blue ink.

Batid los huevos y añadid más leche a la mezcla.

Whisk the eggs and add more milk to the mixture.

Dividan las acciones en partes iguales antes del jueves.

Divide the shares equally before Thursday.

Exercises

Mastering the regular verbs in Spanish imperative is key to giving commands, making suggestions, and offering advice. To truly internalize these forms, it’s essential to practice regularly with exercises that reinforce these forms across different subjects.

Regular Verbs in Spanish Imperative