Habla más despacio, por favor.Speak more slowly, please.

To tell, invite or ask someone you address as tú to do something, Spanish uses the affirmative command, also called the imperative. For most verbs it is easy to build: it has the same form as the él / ella form of the present.

Quick shortcut: for regular verbs, the tú command is the él / ella form of the present: hablar → habla · comer → come · escribir → escribe. Eight common verbs have irregular forms: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven. A por favor makes any command friendlier: Ven aquí, por favor.

Regular verbs: the él / ella form

For -ar, -er and -ir verbs, the affirmative tú command matches the third person singular of the present tense:

Verb Present (él / ella) Command with tú Example
hablar habla habla Habla más despacio. (Speak more slowly.)
comer come come Come algo antes de salir. (Eat something before going out.)
escribir escribe escribe Escribe tu nombre aquí. (Write your name here.)
abrir abre abre Abre la ventana, por favor. (Open the window, please.)
esperar espera espera Espera un momento. (Wait a moment.)

Verbs with a stem change in the present keep the change in the command, because the command copies the él / ella form: cerrar → cierra (Cierra la puerta.), dormir → duerme (Duerme bien.), pedir → pide (Pide un café.), volver → vuelve (Vuelve pronto.). See present tense: common stem-changing verbs.

The subject pronoun is usually left out: Habla is enough, and Habla tú adds emphasis (Habla tú, yo no sé qué decir.).

Eight irregular commands

Eight common verbs have a short irregular form:

Verb Command Example
decir di Di la verdad. (Tell the truth.)
hacer haz Haz la tarea. (Do the homework.)
ir ve Ve a casa. (Go home.)
poner pon Pon la mesa. (Set the table.)
salir sal Sal de aquí. (Get out of here.)
ser sé Sé amable. (Be kind.)
tener ten Ten cuidado. (Be careful.)
venir ven Ven aquí. (Come here.)

sé carries a written accent to tell it apart from the pronoun se.

Vos

Speakers who use vos form the command from the infinitive, for most verbs, with a stressed ending: -ar → -á, -er → -é, -ir → -í. Most of the irregular tú forms above are not used with vos, and two verbs behave differently: ir has andá and ser keeps sé:

Verb tú vos
hablar habla hablá
comer come comé
escribir escribe escribí
hacer haz hacé
venir ven vení
ir ve andá
ser sé sé

Using commands kindly

An affirmative command can sound blunt, especially without a softener. In Spanish, commands are also used for friendly things such as invitations, offers and directions: Pasa. (Come in.) · Siéntate. (Have a seat.) · Come más. (Have some more.) Adding por favor, a name or a smile makes a request warmer: Ayúdame, por favor. · Ana, ven aquí, por favor.

Object and reflexive pronouns attach to the end of an affirmative command (Dime, Siéntate, Ayúdame); their position has its own lesson: Position of object pronouns.

Two things have separate lessons: commands to usted and ustedes (Affirmative commands with usted and ustedes) and negative commands, which use different forms (Negative commands with tú, usted(es) and vosotros).

Common mistakes

  • ❌ Hace la tarea. → ✅ Haz la tarea. (hacer has the irregular command haz)
  • ❌ Va a casa. → ✅ Ve a casa. (the command of ir is ve)
  • ❌ Dice la verdad. → ✅ Di la verdad. (the command of decir is di)

Quick check

Which command form completes each sentence?

  1. (hablar, tú) ___ más despacio, por favor.
  2. (comer, tú) ___ algo antes de salir.
  3. (hacer, tú) ___ la tarea.
  4. (venir, tú) ___ aquí.
  5. (ser, tú) ___ amable.
  6. The tú command of escribir:
  7. The vos command of hablar:
Show answers
  1. Habla más despacio, por favor.   2. Come algo antes de salir.   3. Haz la tarea.   4. Ven aquí.   5. Sé amable.   6. escribe.   7. hablá.

Key takeaways

  • The affirmative tú command of a regular verb is the él / ella form of the present: habla, come, escribe.
  • Verbs with a stem change keep it: cierra, duerme, pide, vuelve.
  • Eight common verbs are irregular: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.
  • With vos, most commands end in -á, -é, -í: hablá, comé, escribí (exceptions: andá for ir, sé for ser).
  • A por favor softens a command: Ven aquí, por favor.
  • Pronouns attach to the end of an affirmative command: Dime, Siéntate.