The Imperative (Commands)

The imperative is the verb form you use to tell someone to do something: Speak!, Eat!, Write your name! At GCSE the command you need most is the informal tú command, used with a friend, a classmate or anyone you address as tú.

The rule for regular verbs is short: the affirmative tú command is exactly the same as the él/ella form of the present tense.

Infinitive	él/ella present	tú command	English
hablar	habla	habla	Speak!
comer	come	come	Eat!
escribir	escribe	escribe	Write!

So you already know these forms from the present tense — you just drop the pronoun and use them as an order.

• Habla más despacio. — Speak more slowly.
• Come la fruta. — Eat the fruit.
• Escribe tu nombre aquí. — Write your name here.

The affirmative tú command of a regular verb never adds a special ending. It borrows the él/ella present form unchanged.

Eight very common verbs have their own irregular affirmative tú command. These do not follow the él/ella rule, so learn them as a set. Most are short, one-syllable words.

Infinitive	tú command	English
decir	di	Say/Tell!
hacer	haz	Do/Make!
ir	ve	Go!
poner	pon	Put!
salir	sal	Leave!
ser	sé	Be!
tener	ten	Have!
venir	ven	Come!

Worked examples with these irregulars:

• Ven aquí. — Come here.
• Ten cuidado. — Be careful. (literally have care)
• Haz los deberes. — Do your homework.
• Sal de la habitación. — Leave the room.
• Pon la mesa. — Set (lay) the table.
• Sé bueno. — Be good.

Notice sé (be) carries an accent to tell it apart from se, the reflexive pronoun, and ve (go) is spelled the same as the command from ver — context makes the meaning clear.

With an affirmative command, any object or reflexive pronoun joins onto the end of the verb, forming a single word. This is the opposite of a normal sentence, where the pronoun comes before the verb (me lo das → give it to me becomes dámelo).

The order inside the attached block is the usual Spanish order: indirect object, then direct object (the "ID" order).

Command + pronoun	Built from	English
dame	da + me	Give me
dámelo	da + me + lo	Give it to me
dímelo	di + me + lo	Tell it to me
póntelo	pon + te + lo	Put it on
hazlo	haz + lo	Do it

Reflexive verbs work the same way — the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end:

• Siéntate. — Sit down. (from sentarse)
• Levántate. — Get up. (from levantarse)
• Lávate las manos. — Wash your hands.

Adding pronouns makes the word longer, which can push the stress away from where it belongs. To keep the stress in its original place, Spanish adds a written accent.

A reliable guide:

• One-syllable command + one pronoun — usually no accent: dame, ponlo, hazlo, dime.
• Two-syllable command + one pronoun — add an accent: come → cómelo, escribe → escríbelo.
• Any command + two pronouns — add an accent: da → dámelo, di → dímelo.

Command	+ pronoun(s)	Result	English
come	+ lo	cómelo	Eat it
escribe	+ lo	escríbelo	Write it
da	+ me + lo	dámelo	Give it to me
sienta	+ te	siéntate	Sit down

The accent never changes how the word is stressed — it protects the original stress. The sound of cómelo is still stressed on có, exactly as come was stressed on co.

Commands appear constantly in the topics AQA sets, so recognising them helps in Reading and Listening as well as producing them in Speaking and Writing.

• Directions: Sigue todo recto y gira a la derecha. — Go straight on and turn right.
• Recipes and instructions: Añade la sal y mezcla bien. — Add the salt and mix well.
• Advice to a friend: Descansa más y bebe mucha agua. — Rest more and drink lots of water.
• Classroom language: Escucha con atención y repite. — Listen carefully and repeat.

Reflexive and pronoun commands are just as common in advice:

• Cuídate. — Take care of yourself.
• Dime la verdad. — Tell me the truth.
• Pruébalo. — Try it.

Because the affirmative tú command reuses the present-tense form, spotting one is often a matter of noticing there is no subject and the verb is giving an order.

The core AQA imperative is the affirmative tú command above. Two related forms are worth recognising, but they work differently.

(Extra context — negative tú commands and usted commands use the present subjunctive, which Foundation students are not required to produce. Recognise them; you do not need to form them at Foundation.)

Negative tú commands (don't...) are not simply no + the affirmative form. They use the subjunctive, and pronouns move back in front of the verb:

• No hables. — Don't speak. (not no habla)
• No comas eso. — Don't eat that.
• No te levantes. — Don't get up.

Usted commands (polite/formal) also use the subjunctive:

• Hable más despacio, por favor. — Speak more slowly, please. (to someone you address as usted)
• Siéntese, por favor. — Sit down, please.

For most GCSE tasks, the affirmative tú command is what you will produce yourself.

1. Using the infinitive as a command

Comer la fruta is not a command — it means to eat the fruit. The command is come la fruta. Never leave the verb as an infinitive when giving a tú order.

2. Forgetting the eight irregulars

Haces los deberes is a statement (you do the homework). The command is haz los deberes. The irregulars di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven must be memorised — they do not follow the él/ella rule.

3. Putting the pronoun before an affirmative command

Me lo da is a normal sentence. As a command it becomes one word with the pronouns attached: dámelo.

4. Dropping the written accent after attaching a pronoun

Comelo and cometelo are misspellings. Once a pronoun lengthens the word, the accent is required: cómelo, siéntate, dámelo.

5. Treating "no + affirmative command" as a negative command

No come is not don't eat. The negative command uses the subjunctive: no comas. At Foundation you mainly need to recognise this, not form it.