Common Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish
Irregular informal commands in Spanish appear regularly in Spanish conversations. That’s why it’s essential to master the irregular tú commands in Spanish if you want to sound like a native speaker.
After reading this blog post, you’ll be able to form irregular informal commands in Spanish. I’ll guide you through the process, refreshing your knowledge about the imperative mood, explaining types of irregular tú commands, and showing you how to use them.
Finally, you’ll be able to practice what you’ve learned by taking a multiple-choice quiz. Ready? Let’s get started!
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How To Use the Imperative Mood in Spanish
Before you learn all about irregular informal commands in Spanish, let’s briefly review the key facts about the imperative mood in Spanish.
1. You use the imperative mood to give commands. To put it simply, if you want others to do something,that’s when you need it.
2. Since we do not give commands to ourselves, the imperative mood has just four grammatical subjects:
- tú – you
- él/ella/Usted – he/she/formal singular you
- nosotros/-as – we
- ellos/-as/Ustedes – they, formal plural you
3. Apart from the informal tú command, all other grammatical persons are the same as the present subjunctive forms. In the negative commands, all the endings are the same as the present subjunctive endings.
Imperative Conjugations
Here are the charts for the imperative mood for all three conjugations.
The imperative mood chart for regular -ar verbs – hablar (to speak)
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Habla con ella!
Talk to her!
Hablemos, por favor.
Let’s talk, please.
¡No hables tan fuerte!
Don’t speak so loud!
¡No hablen aquí!
Don’t talk here!
The imperative mood chart for regular -er verbs – comer (to eat)
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Come más fruta!
Eat more fruit!
Comamos, por favor.
Let’s eat, please.
¡No comas esto!
Don’t eat that!
¡No coman aquí!
Don’t eat here!
The imperative mood chart for regular -ir verbs – vivir (to live)
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Vive con alegria!
Live with joy!
Vivamos el momento.
Let’s live in the moment!.
¡No vivas en este lugar!
Don’t live in this place!
¡No vivan así!
Don’t live like this!
Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish
Quite often you’ll encounter irregular informal commands in Spanish that are not completely irregular. You still need to make some more changes than simply adding the imperative mood ending, but there’s a trick to this.
Some verbs will present the irregular forms of the imperative mood that are the same as the irregularities they have in the present tense. The only form that will always be regular is the first person plural, the command we give to “us.”
Let’s look at the verb pensar (to think). The e-ie stem change that you already know from the present tense conjugation (pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, piensan) also appears in the imperative mood:
- piensa
- piense
- pensemos
- piensen
Here are some other verbs that have “regular” irregularities in the imperative mood:
- cerrar (to close) – cierra, cierre, cerremos, cierren
- volar (to fly) – vuela, vuele, volemos, vuelen
- jugar (to play) – juega, juegues, juguemos, jueguen
However, there are 8 verbs with totally irregular informal commands in Spanish:
| Infinitive | Irregular Informal Imperative |
| ser (to be) | sé |
| decir (to say) | di |
| hacer (to do) | haz |
| ir (to go) | ve |
| poner (to put) | pon |
| salir (to leave) | sal |
| venir (to come) | ven |
| tener (to have) | ten |
Let’s see each one of them with full conjugation for the imperative mood and examples for the informal commands. Let’s have a look also at the forms of the irregular negative tú commands in Spanish.
Ser – To Be
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Sé tú mismo!
Be yourself!
¡No seas tonto!
Don’t be silly!
Sean prudentes.
Be careful.
¡No sean así!
Don’t be like that!
Decir – To Say
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Di la verdad!
Tell the truth
¡No digas tonterías!
Don’t talk nonsense!
Digan lo que quieran.
Say what you want.
¡No digan mentiras!
Don’t tell lies!
Hacer – To Do
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Hazlo!
Do it
¡No lo hagas!
Don’t do it!
Háganlo a mi manera.
Do it my way.
¡No hagan así las cosas!
Don’t do things like that!
Ir – To Go
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Ve y hazlo!
Go and do it!
¡No vayas ahí!
Don’t go there!
Vayan de aquí ahora mismo.
Get out of here right now.
¡No se vayan todavía!
Don’t go yet!
Poner – To Put
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Pon el seguro!
Put the safety catch on!
¡No pongas esa cara!
Don’t make that face!
Pónganse en contacto con la inmobiliaria.
Please, contact the real estate agency.
¡No se pongan celosos!
Don’t go jealous!
Salir – To Leave
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Sal de ahí!
Get out of there!
¡No salgas con este peinado!
Don’t go out with that hairdo!
Salgan a las 10 y veámonos en la esquina.
Leave at 10 o’clock and meet us at the corner.
¡No salgan sin el paraguas!
Don’t go out without an umbrella!
Venir – To Come
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Ven conmigo!
Come with me!
¡No vengas ahora!
Don’t come now!
Vengan a las 8 por favor.
Come at 8 o’clock, please.
¡No vengan sin las compras!
Don’t come without shopping!
Tener – To Have
Example Sentences in Spanish
¡Ten el cambio!
Keep the change!
¡No tengas miedo!
Don’t be afraid!
Tengan paciencia por favor.
Be patient, please.
¡No tengan morro!
Don’t be cheeky!
Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish – Quiz
Now that you know irregular affirmative tú commands and irregular
1. Pedro, ___________ paciente conmigo. (ser, tú)
2. Ana, no ___________ nada. (decir, tú)
3. ___________ a México y pasemos las vacaciones juntos. (venir, ustedes)
4. ___________ lo que quieras mi querido, yo me voy. (hacer, tú)
5. ___________ tranquila María, yo me encargo de todo. (ir, tú)
6. Hija, ___________ las flores en el florero, por favor. (poner, tú)
7. ¡___________ de ahí ahora mismo o te arrepentirás! (salir, tú)
8. ¡___________ a mi casa amiga! (venir, tú)
9. ___________ la decencia de emitir tu error. (tener, tú)
10. ¡___________, no digan nada a su madre! (decir, ustedes)
Start Giving Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish
You’ve mastered another topic of Spanish grammar! Irregular informal commands in Spanish are no longer a mystery to you! Of course, if you’re serious about becoming bilingual, you have to practice.
While practicing might seem boring, there are no shortcuts to becoming fluent in Spanish. If you need extra motivation, just think about the pay raise you may ask for just because you know another language or the new job opportunities that await you! Yes, being bilingual translates into higher salaries and it’s one of the hottest skills for job seekers!
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