Spanish 102 More on Formal Affirmative and Negative Tu' Commands

How to form formal commands in Spanish

• Start with the present tense yo form

  • drop the -o ending

  • add the opposite ud. or uds. Ending:

    • -e/-en for -ar verbs

    • -a/-an for -er and -ir verbs

Formal commands are the same whether they are affirmative or negative

Infinitive, Yo form, Usted, and Ustedes for Hablar

Hablar, hablo, (no) hable, (no) hablen

Infinitive, Yo form, Usted, and Ustedes for Volver

Volver, vuelvo, (no) vuelva, (no) no vuelvan

Infinitive, Yo form, Usted, and Ustedes for Venir

Venir, vengo, (no) venga, (no) vengan

Formal commands with spelling changes

• Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar*

*car (c—>qu), -gar (g—>gu), -zar (z—>c)

Infinitive, Yo form, Usted, and Ustedes for Sacar

sacar, saco, saque, saquen

Infinitive, Yo form, Usted, and Ustedes for Llegar

llegar, llego, llegue, lleguen

Infinitive, Yo form, Usted, and Ustedes for Comenzar

comenzar, comienzo, comience, comiencen

The Five irregular Commands with Formal Commands

Dar—>usted: dé ——>ustedes: den

Estar—>usted: esté ——>ustedes: estén

Ir—>usted: vaya ——>ustedes: vayan

Saber—>usted: sepa ——>ustedes: sepan

Ser—>usted: sea ——>ustedes: sean