Language Transfer Spanish notes
Lesson 72
Commands Without a New Tense
Language Transfer Complete Spanish is by Mihalis Eleftheriou. Listen to the original audio first; use these notes for revision.
Most commands use the subjunctive, with ONE exception:
Formal commands = subjunctive forms: ¡Hable! ¡Coman! ¡Esperen!
Informal NEGATIVE commands = subjunctive: ¡No hables! ¡No comas! ¡No te quedes!
Informal POSITIVE commands = shortcut — drop the -s from informal present: hablas→¡Habla! comes→¡Come!
Pronoun placement: After positive commands (Espérenme! Cómalo!). Before negative commands (¡No lo coma! ¡No los esperen!).
Ahí / allí = there.
Sentences practiced
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| No hables. | Don't speak. (informal) |
| No te quedes. | Don't stay. |
| No te quedes aquí. | Don't stay here. |
| No te quedes ahí. | Don't stay there. |
| No lo des. | Don't give it. |
| No se lo des. | Don't give it to him. |
| No se lo des a él. | Don't give it to him. (clarified) |
| ¡Coman! | Eat! |
| ¡Esperen! | Wait! (to more than one person) |
| ¡Espérenme! | Wait for me! |
| ¡Espérenlo! | Wait for him! |
| ¡Espérenlos! | Wait for them! |
| No los esperen. | Don't wait for them. |
| ¡Coma! | Eat! (formal) |
| ¡Cómalo! | Eat it! (formal) |
| No lo coma. | Don't eat it. (formal) |
| No lo comas. | Don't eat it. (informal) |