Imperativo and pronouns

Affirmative commands are requests, orders and advice in the positive form: “do it”, “buy it”, “sit down”.

Whose forms

Regular verbs

Important: only tú and vosotros have forms of their own. The usted, ustedes and nosotros forms are simply the present subjunctive without “que”.

Eight irregular tú forms (learn by heart!)

How it is formed

Negative commands

In practice: since this is the subjunctive, all irregular subjunctive stems carry over to negative commands automatically: ser → no seas, ir → no vayas, tener → no tengas, saber → no sepas.

Irregular verbs: yes and no

Stem changes

The stem changes in tú, usted and ustedes — just as in the indicative and subjunctive. In nosotros and vosotros cerrar and volver keep their stem; -ir verbs change e→i, o→u in nosotros: pidamos, durmamos.

This is where most mistakes happen: the pronoun either sticks to the verb or stands on its own, depending on the type of command.

Two positions

One phrase — yes and no

Two pronouns: the RID rule

The RID rule (Reflexive → Indirect → Direct): with two pronouns, the reflexive or indirect one (me, te, se, nos, os) comes first, then the direct one (lo, la, los, las). Negative commands keep the same order, but before the verb.

The golden rule le / les → se: before lo, la, los, las, le and les always turn into se. Pídeselo (not “pídelelo”), dáselas (not “dálelas”), never “lelo”.

When a pronoun is attached to an affirmative command, the word gets longer — and the stress often has to be “rescued” with a written accent.

The logic: a word ending in a vowel, -n or -s is stressed on the second-to-last syllable by default. When we attach a pronoun, the verb’s stress must stay where it was — if it is no longer second-to-last, we add a written accent.

Three groups

Examples by group

• da + me → damegive me
• haz + lo → hazlodo it
• pon + te → ponteput on (yourself)
• di + le → diletell him
• compra + lo → cómpralobuy it
• escribe + me → escríbemewrite to me
• abre + la → ábrelaopen it
• diga + lo → dígalosay it (usted)
• quita + los → quítalostake them away
• da + me + lo → dámelogive it to me
• di + se + lo → díselotell it to him
• pon + te + lo → pónteloput it on
• compra + te + lo → cómpratelobuy it for yourself

Summary: one and two pronouns

Negative commands are easier: the pronouns stand separately before the verb, and the subjunctive form keeps its usual stress — no me lo digas, no te lo pongas, no se los des.

Reflexive verbs (levantarse, sentarse, irse…) lose one letter before -nos and -os in affirmative commands: nosotros drops the -s, vosotros drops the -d.

Reflexive forms

Yes and no

Exception 1 — irse: nosotros uses the colloquial vámonos (let’s go), not “vayámonos”. It is the only case like this.

Exception 2 — irse: vosotros uses the special form idos instead of the expected “íos” — the only case where the -d stays.

The stress stays put: after losing the -s, the nosotros form almost always needs an accent — levantémonos, sentémonos, vámonos: the word got longer, but the stress stayed on the same syllable. In negative commands the pronoun goes before the verb as usual.

Reflexive verbs in use

• Levántate. → No te levantes.Get up. → Don’t get up.
• Quedaos con nosotros. → No os quedéis con ellos.Stay with us. → Don’t stay with them. (vosotros)
• ¡Vámonos, que es tarde!Let’s go, it’s late!
• Pónganse cómodos, por favor.Make yourselves comfortable, please. (ustedes)

Worked examples: yes → no

• Cómprate una lavadora. → No te la compres.Buy yourself a washing machine. → Don’t buy it.
• Pídele las llaves a tu padre. → No se las pidas.Ask your father for the keys. → Don’t ask him for them. (le → se, las = the keys)
• Haz mucho ruido. → No hagas mucho.Make a lot of noise. → Don’t make much. (ruido is not replaced by a pronoun)
• Tira la basura. → No la tires.Throw out the rubbish. → Don’t throw it out.
• Ponle más sal a la salsa. → No le pongas más.Put more salt in the sauce. → Don’t put in any more. (le stays le: no lo / la / los / las follows)
• Quédate con tus amigos. → No te quedes con ellos.Stay with your friends. → Don’t stay with them. (don’t drop the reflexive te)
• Ponte este queso en la pasta. → No te lo pongas.Put this cheese on your pasta. → Don’t put it on.
• Quítalos de la mesa. → No los quites de ahí.Take them off the table (your feet). → Don’t move them from there.

Affirmative and negative

• Ven aquí ahora mismo.Come here right now.
• Haced los deberes antes de cenar.Do your homework before dinner. (vosotros)
• Vuelva usted mañana, por favor.Please come back tomorrow.
• Córtate la melena. → No te la cortes.Cut your long hair. → Don’t cut it. (cortes is subjunctive)
• No tengas miedo, no pasa nada.Don’t be afraid, it’s all right.
• No abramos la ventana, hace frío.Let’s not open the window, it’s cold.
• No salgan sin paraguas.Don’t go out without an umbrella. (ustedes)

Pronoun position

• Cómprala. → No la compres.Buy it. → Don’t buy it.
• Dímelo. → No me lo digas.Tell me. → Don’t tell me.
• Sentaos. → No os sentéis.Sit down. → Don’t sit down. (vosotros)
• Dame el libro. → Dámelo.Give me the book. → Give it to me. (indirect + direct)
• Dile la verdad a él. → Díselo.Tell him the truth. → Tell it to him. (le + lo → se lo)
• Ponte el jersey. → Póntelo.Put on your jumper. → Put it on. (reflexive te + direct lo)
• No se lo digas.Don’t tell him. (same order, but before the verb)

Everything on one screen

Checklist before you answer:
1) Affirmative or negative? — choose the verb form.
2) Is the verb reflexive (ponerse, quedarse…)? — keep its pronoun.
3) Is there a direct object (what?) — replace it with lo, la, los, las.
4) Is there an indirect object (to whom?) — me, te, le→se, nos, os, les→se, placed before the direct one.
5) Affirmative form — attach the pronouns and check the accent.