In Spanish, the nosotros/nosotras/usted/ustedes forms of El Imperativo, both in affirmative and negative commands take same form as El Presente de Subjuntivo.
Here is a reminder of regular verbs conjugations in El Presente de Subjuntivo:
Conjugate regular -ar verbs in the present subjunctive in Spanish (El Presente de Subjuntivo)
Bear in mind that there are lots of verbs with stem-change and consonant change in the present subjunctive, though.
Let's look at nosotros/nosotras first, then usted/ustedes.
Spanish imperative of Nosotros/Nosotras (we)
To say Let's [do something] or Let's not [do something] in Spanish as a form of command to ourselves we use the verb in the present subjunctive form for nosotros/nosotras (first person plural).Â
Have a look at these examples:
Ella no quiere que nosotros comamos tan rápido. (present subjunctive)
She doesn't want us to eat so fast.
Alternative structures not using the imperative
Bear in mind though, that in a more colloquial way, we would probably use an interrogative sentence introduced by "¿Por qué no...?" followed by El Presente with the same purpose, an affirmative command to "ourselves". For example:
¿Por qué no vamos a la playa?
Why don't we go to the beach?/Let's go to the beach!
And in the negative cases, we would probably prefer to use a different sentence structure introduced by "Mejor no..." followed by El Presente. For example:
Mejor no vamos a la playa.Â
Let's not go to the beach!
Both "¿Por qué no...?" and "Mejor no..." followed by El Presente are more frequently used in speech than their equivalent forms using the imperative:
Vayamos a la playa.
Let's go to the beach! (affirmative command)
No vayamos a la playa.
Let's not go to the beach! (negative command)
Here are other examples using the imperative:
Spanish imperative of Usted and Ustedes (you formal singular and plural)
To express an affirmative or negative command directed to "you" (formal) we also use the usted/ustedes form (3rd person singular/plural) in El Presente de Subjuntivo. A typical situation is in a formal conversation or transaction, for example in a bank.
Here are some examples:
Necesito que firme aquÃ, Señor. (present subjunctive)
I need you to sign here, Sir.
Señoritas, no es bueno que beban mucho champán. (present subjunctive)
Ladies, it is not good to drink lots of champagne.
Another typical context for this is road signs:
Here are more examples (usted):
Here are more examples (ustedes):
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