Imperativo
To give an order or make a request, you need the imperative. Spanish has separate forms for tú / vosotros / usted / ustedes, plus a different set for negation. Good news: the forms are regular, and several overlap with the present tense.
Affirmative TÚ
Just take the THIRD-person singular of the present tense — done. hablar → ¡habla! (speak!). comer → ¡come! (eat!). escribir → ¡escribe! (write!). A few short irregulars to memorize: di (decir, say), haz (hacer, do), ve (ir, go), ven (venir, come), pon (poner, put), sal (salir, leave), sé (ser, be), ten (tener, hold).
Affirmative VOSOTROS
Take the infinitive, replace -r with -d. hablar → ¡hablad! comer → ¡comed! escribir → ¡escribid! This form is used in Spain. Latin America uses ustedes instead — different form (below).
Affirmative USTED / USTEDES
Special form: present subjunctive (you'll meet it formally in lesson 29). Logic: -ar verbs take -e/-en, -er and -ir verbs take -a/-an. Sounds harder than it is: hablar → hable Vd., hablen Vds. (you speak). comer → coma, coman. vivir → viva, vivan. So like the present, but flipped: -ar → -e, -er/ir → -a.
Negative imperative — all persons
All negative forms use the present subjunctive. tú: no hables, no comas, no vivas. vosotros: no habléis, no comáis, no viváis. usted: no hable, no coma, no viva. ustedes: no hablen, no coman, no vivan. Note: the tú form CHANGES in negation! ¡Habla! → ¡No hables! — the -es ending appears.
Pronouns and the imperative
In affirmative — pronouns attach to the BACK as one word: ¡Háblame! (talk to me!), ¡Cómelo! (eat it!), ¡Levántate! (get up!). An accent often appears to keep the original stress. In negative — pronouns go BEFORE the verb: ¡No me hables!, ¡No lo comas!, ¡No te levantes!.
Softening with por favor
Bare imperatives can sound blunt in Spain. Often softened with por favor or by reformulating as a question: ¿Puedes ayudarme? (can you help me?) — soft request. ¡Ayúdame! — order. Por favor, ven aquí = please, come here.
