4.9. Spanish Tenses: Affirmative and Negative Imperative

Spanish, like any other language, has a series of verb tenses that help indicate when an action has taken place. One of these tenses is the imperative, which is used to give orders, advice or instructions. The imperative can be affirmative or negative, depending on whether the action is encouraged or discouraged. In this section, we'll explore the use of the affirmative and negative imperative in Spanish.

Affirmative Imperative

The affirmative imperative is used to give orders, instructions, or advice in a direct and concise manner. The formation of the affirmative imperative in Spanish varies depending on whether the verb is regular or irregular, as well as the person to whom the order or advice is being given.

For regular verbs, the formation of the affirmative imperative is quite simple. For verbs ending in -ar, the ending is -a for second person singular (tú), -ad for second person plural (vosotros), and -e for third person singular and plural (usted, ustedes ). For verbs ending in -er and -ir, the ending is -e for second person singular, -ed for second person plural, and -a for third person singular and plural.

For example, for the verb 'hablar' (speak), we would have 'habla' (speak) for the second person singular, 'hablad' (speak) for the second person plural, and 'hable' (speak) for the third person singular and plural. For the verb 'comer' (comer), we would have 'come' (come) for the second person singular, 'comed' (comam) for the second person plural, and 'coma' (coma) for the third person singular and plural.

There are also several irregular verbs that have special imperative forms. For example, the verb 'ir' (to go) becomes 've' in the affirmative imperative for the second person singular, and 'id' for the second person plural.

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Negative Imperative

The negative imperative, on the other hand, is used to discourage action or ask someone not to do something. The formation of the negative imperative is a little more complex than that of the affirmative.

To form the negative imperative, we use the present subjunctive form of the verb. For verbs ending in -ar, the ending is -es for the second person singular (tú), -éis for the second person plural (vosotros), and -e for the third person singular and plural (usted, ustedes ). For verbs ending in -er and -ir, the ending is -as for second person singular, -ais for second person plural, and -a for third person singular and plural.

For example, for the verb 'hablar', we would have 'no hables' (don't speak) for the second person singular, 'no habléis' (don't speak) for the second person plural, and 'no hable' ( do not speak) for the third person singular and plural. For the verb 'comer', we would have 'no comas' (don't eat) for the second person singular, 'no comáis' (don't eat) for the second person plural, and 'no coma' (don't eat) for the third person singular and plural.

As with the affirmative imperative, there are several irregular verbs in the negative imperative. For example, the verb 'ir' becomes 'no vayas' for the second person singular, and 'no vayáis' for the second person plural.

In summary, the imperative is an important tense in Spanish that is used to give orders or advice, and can be affirmative or negative. The formation of the imperative varies depending on the verb and the person, and there are many irregular verbs that have special imperative forms.