I can make short requests and give tips to a friend: Habla más despacio, Ven a las siete, Dime la verdad, Ponla en la mesa.
How to ask and give tips
Commands and requests with tú
Instructions, requests, and advice to a friend use the affirmative tú command (imperativo afirmativo). You met short forms of it in the city lessons (gira, toma, sigue); here is the whole system.
One rule (first table): the tú command is the same as the él form of the present tense. hablar → él habla → Habla. comer → él come → Come. The stem change stays: cerrar → cierra, volver → vuelve, pedir → pide. Never the infinitive or hablas, as English “Speak” might suggest.
Eight verbs break the rule and are learned whole (second table): di, haz, pon, sal, ten, ven, ve, sé. The command of ser has an accent mark — sé — so it isn't confused with the pronoun se.
The pronoun attaches to the end of the command and is written as ONE word with it (third table): da + me → dame, compra + lo → cómpralo, levanta + te → levántate.
Watch the spelling: with two syllables there is no accent mark (dame, ponla). Once there are three or more, it appears — cómpralo, escríbenos, levántate. The stress stays on the same syllable as in the command without the pronoun.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Hablas más despacio” as a request — correct: Habla más despacio.
• NOT “Pone la mesa” — correct: Pon la mesa.
• NOT “Hacer la cena” as a request to a friend — correct: Haz la cena.
• NOT “Compra lo” — correct: cómpralo, one word.
• NOT “Te levanta” — correct: levántate.
tú command = the él form in the present tense
Take the él/ella form of the present tense — and that's already a command. Any stem change stays.
| Infinitive | él · ella form | tú command |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | Habla con Teresa hoy. |
| comer | come | Come más fruta. |
| escribir | escribe | Escribe el número aquí. |
| cerrar (e→ie) | cierra | Cierra el bolso. |
| volver (o→ue) | vuelve | Vuelve a las siete. |
| pedir (e→i) | pide | Pide otro vaso. |
Eight short commands
These eight forms don't follow a rule — you learn them whole. The form of ser has an accent mark: sé, so you don't confuse it with the pronoun se.
| Infinitive | tú command | Model |
|---|---|---|
| decir | di | Di tu nombre. |
| hacer | haz | Haz el café. |
| poner | pon | Pon la mesa, Ana. |
| salir | sal | Sal de la cocina. |
| tener | ten | Ten el vaso un momento. |
| venir | ven | Ven el domingo. |
| ir | ve | Ve al mercado hoy. |
| ser | sé | Sé amable con Elena. |
The pronoun attaches to the command
The command and the pronoun are written as ONE word. If the word now has three or more syllables, it gets an accent mark.
| Command | Pronoun | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| compra | lo | cómpralo |
| da | me | dame |
| escribe | nos | escríbenos |
| levanta | te | levántate |
| pon | la | ponla |
Lesson notes
Commands and requests with tú
Instructions, requests, and advice to a friend use the affirmative tú command (imperativo afirmativo). You met short forms of it in the city lessons (gira, toma, sigue); here is the whole system.
One rule (first table): the tú command is the same as the él form of the present tense. hablar → él habla → Habla. comer → él come → Come. The stem change stays: cerrar → cierra, volver → vuelve, pedir → pide. Never the infinitive or hablas, as English “Speak” might suggest.
Eight verbs break the rule and are learned whole (second table): di, haz, pon, sal, ten, ven, ve, sé. The command of ser has an accent mark — sé — so it isn't confused with the pronoun se.
The pronoun attaches to the end of the command and is written as ONE word with it (third table): da + me → dame, compra + lo → cómpralo, levanta + te → levántate.
Watch the spelling: with two syllables there is no accent mark (dame, ponla). Once there are three or more, it appears — cómpralo, escríbenos, levántate. The stress stays on the same syllable as in the command without the pronoun.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Hablas más despacio” as a request — correct: Habla más despacio.
• NOT “Pone la mesa” — correct: Pon la mesa.
• NOT “Hacer la cena” as a request to a friend — correct: Haz la cena.
• NOT “Compra lo” — correct: cómpralo, one word.
• NOT “Te levanta” — correct: levántate.