The Formation of the Imperative

The Spanish imperative exists only in the present tense. However, we distinguish the affirmative imperative in the active form and the negative imperative in the negative form.

The difficulty of the imperative in Spanish is its formation because depending on the persons, we do not start from the same model. Moreover, the source of the tenses changes depending on whether it is a positive or negative form.

The Affirmative Imperative

Let's start first with the affirmative imperative. Here is a table summarizing its formation:

The two particular persons of the affirmative imperative are the 2nd person singular and plural: tú and vosotros. In the case of the 2nd person plural, it is quite simple, we take the verb in the infinitive and replace the final r with a d. There is no exception to this rule.

In the 2nd person singular, we take the verb in the present indicative and remove the final s for reasons of sound. However, there are some exceptions that must be known: decir => di, haber => he, hacer => haz, ir => ve, poner => pon, salir => sal, ser => sé, tener => ten, venir => ven.

Finally, note one last exception with the verb ir (to go) in the first person plural. We can say vamos instead of vayamos.

The Negative Imperative

As for the negative imperative, it is formed exclusively from the present subjunctive preceded by no. Here is a table summarizing its formation: