Forming the imperative of tú for most verbs (affirmative commands)

The "" (2nd person singular) form of El Imperativo (affirmative commands) of most verbs in Spanish coincide with the conjugation for the él/ella (3rd person singular) form in El Presente. 

Have a look at these examples of el/ella + present tense and the  form of the imperative:

Él baila(He dances) = present tense
¡Baila! (Dance!) = affirmative command for  

Ella come(She eats) = present tense
¡Come! (Eat!) = affirmative command for  

Pedro conduce. (Pedro drives) = present tense
¡Conduce! (Drive!) = affirmative command for  

Here are some more examples:

Mi hija María pinta unos cuadros muy bonitos.My daughter María paints some very pretty pictures.

María, ¡pinta un cuadro bonito!María, paint a pretty picture!

Esther cose el botón de su camisa.Esther sews a button on her shirt.

Esther, ¡cose el botón de tu camisa!Esther, sew the button on your shirt!

Ella asiste a la cita del médico.She attends the doctor's appointment.

¡Asiste a la cita del médico!Attend the doctor's appointment!

Remember that lots of verbs in Spanish contain irregularities in the present tense, so that irregularity is maintained in the imperative:

¡Empieza ahora!Start now!

¡Pide la cuenta!Ask for the bill!

¡Recuerda nuestra cita!Remember our date!

¡Oye!Listen!

¡Prueba la paella! Está deliciosa.Try the paella! It tastes delicious.

There are a limited number of irregular verbs that for the  form of the imperative do not follow the rule above. Most of them are yo-go verbs. These have a short form, see Forming the imperative of tú for all irregular verbs (irregular affirmative commands)

Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics

Examples and resources

Mi hija María pinta unos cuadros muy bonitos.My daughter María paints some very pretty pictures.
María, ¡pinta un cuadro bonito!María, paint a pretty picture!
Esther cose el botón de su camisa.Esther sews a button on her shirt.
Ella asiste a la cita del médico.She attends the doctor's appointment.
¡Asiste a la cita del médico!Attend the doctor's appointment!
Esther, ¡cose el botón de tu camisa!Esther, sew the button on your shirt!
¡Pepe, presta atención !Pepe, pay attention!
¡Eduardo, corre más rápido!Eduardo, run faster!
¡Prueba la paella! Está deliciosa.Try the paella! It tastes delicious.
María, ¡compra más patatas!María, buy more potatoes!
¡Bebe algo!Drink something! ("you" informal singular = "tú")
¡Empieza ahora!Start now!
¡Pide la cuenta!Ask for the bill!
¡Recuerda nuestra cita!Remember our date!
¡Oye!Listen!
Clever stuff happening!