Formal (usted/ustedes) Commands�Los Mandatos
English Connection
In English, we form commands by removing the subject “you”
Statement: You eat vegetables.
Command: Eat the vegetables.
Use Ud. Commands:�
Formation of Ud./Uds. Commands
Begin with the yo form present-tense of the verb
cantar
drop the “o” ending
AR verbs ER Verbs
Ud. -e -a
Uds. -en -an
Sing! ¡Cante! ¡Canten!
Write! ¡Escriba! ¡Escriban!
canto
cant
o
Cantar
Ud.- ¡Cante! = Sing! (Speaking to one person)
Uds.- ¡Canten! = Sing! (to more than one person)
To make the command negative, just put “no” in front of the command form.
Ud.- ¡No cante! = Don’t sing!
Uds.-¡No canten! = Don’t sing!
-er/-ir ending verbs
Vender
Venda Vendan
No venda No vendan
*Regular –ir ending verbs will end this same way.
vivir viv viva/vivan
vend
o
o
Irregular yo forms
Salir
Salga Salgan
No salga No salgan
*Notice the importance of beginning with the YO form stem.
Salg
o
Very irregular yo forms
Some verbs have very irregular yo forms and are therefore irregular in the command form…you have to MEMORIZE these irregulars! Ud./Uds. Verb Yo form command
Dar (doy) dé/den
Estar (estoy) esté/estén
Ir (voy) vaya/vayan
Saber (sé) sepa/sepan
Ser (soy) sea/sean
-car/-gar/-zar Ending Verbs
In order to retain the same sound, -car,
-gar, and –zar ending verbs have a spelling change in the formal command forms.
-car -que/-quen practique/practiquen
-gar -gue/-guen juegue/jueguen
-zar -ce/-cen empiece/empiecen
Commands with Pronouns
IOPs, DOPs and Reflexives
Attach the pronoun to the end of the positive command.
For a formal command, the reflexive pronoun will always be “se”.
Examples: ¡Báñense! – Take a bath! (uds.)
¡Duérmanse! – Go to sleep! (all of you)
Don’t forget the accent mark!
Negative Commands
Place the pronoun in front of the command.
Examples:
¡No se vaya! – Don’t go!
¡No se duerman! – Don’t fall asleep!
Commands with Object Pronouns
Examples:
¡Déme el dinero! – Give me the money!
¡Dígannos la verdad! – Tell us the truth!
¡No lo ponga aquí! – Don’t put it here!
Práctica
Change the following verbs to commands.
Bailar(Ud.) Dance!
Hacer la (Uds.) Do it!
Comprar les (Ud.) Don’t buy for them!
Mirarse (Uds.) Look at yourselves!
Repetir (Ud.) Repeat!
Abrir los (Uds.) Don’t open them!
Comer lo (Ud.)- Don’t eat it!
Respuestas
Baile
Háganla
No les compre
Mírense
Repita
No los abran
No lo coma