I thought Inperative was the same as commands! How do they differ in usage and form?
There is often confusion between these terms when studying Spanish grammar: command, imperative and present subjunctive.
A command in Spanish
A command in Spanish is simply "an order" given to a person. An order (or sometimes just a suggestion) can be given in different ways in Spanish. One of these ways is by using the imperative forms. You can express a command in an affirmative way (e.g. "Go!") or a negative way, (e.g. "Don't go!"). Depending on whether it is affirmative or negative and also depending on who the order/suggestion is addressed to, we use different forms of the imperative.
The imperative in Spanish
The imperative in Spanish is a mood. The imperative forms or conjugations must be studied by subject pronoun, as each different subject pronoun follows a different rule for their conjugations/endings. It is also important to note that the imperative conjugations are different for affirmative commands and negative commands.
Here are all the imperative conjugations:
Imperative of tú for most verbs (affirmative commands)
Imperative of tú for all irregular verbs (irregular affirmative commands)
Imperative of vosotros for all verbs (affirmative commands)
Imperative of tú / vosotros/vosotras (negative commands)
Imperative for usted/ustedes / nosotros/nosotras (affirmative and negative commands)
Present Subjunctive conjugations in Spanish used for commands
Bear in mind that to make a negative command addressed to any subject (tú, nosotros, vosotros, usted, ustedes), the form of the imperative is the same as the form of the Present Subjunctive of that verb and subject. Similarly, affirmative commands addressed to usted/ustedes (but not the other subject pronouns) have the same conjugations as the Present Subjunctive.
This is where there can be confusion for Spanish learners. Sometimes these forms are referred to as the conjugations of the Present Subjunctive and sometimes as the conjugations of the Imperative. Since the conjugations for these two verb moods are identical, both terms are correct. They are Imperative forms/endings and also Present Subjunctive forms/endings, so whatever they are called, they are referring to the same thing.
Here are different examples showing commands (informal and formal) using the affirmative and negative imperative:
Lessons with more detail on (Confusion between commands, imperative and present subjunctive)
- Using the infinitive to express a request/command/give instructions in Spanish
- Using preposition a + infinitive to express a command in Spanish
- Using the Spanish gerund as a command
- Using que + the present subjunctive in Spanish to to express a wish/command
- Using the Formal Pronominal Passive Imperative in orders/instructions in Spanish
Q&A Forum 2 questions, 2 answers
Hola Ellen H.
That's a great question and it's a common point of confusion for Spanish learners! While 'imperative' often refers to the mood used for commands, the distinction can be subtle in Spanish due to the overlap with the subjunctive.
In essence:
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Imperative mood: This is primarily used for direct commands to 'tú' (affirmative only), 'vosotros' (affirmative only) and 'nosotros'. For example, "habla" (speak - tú) or "hablad" (speak - vosotros).
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Commands: In Spanish, commands for 'usted', 'ustedes', 'tú' (negative) and 'vosotros' (negative) are actually formed using the present subjunctive mood. For example, "no hables" (don't speak - tú) or "hable" (speak - usted).
So, you could say that all imperative forms are commands, but not all commands use the imperative mood directly. Many commands rely on the subjunctive.
Hope this helps!
Buen finde
Silvia
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Kimberly W.Kwiziq community member
Informal tu commands
How do you differentiate an action in the present tense (third person singular present tense) from the informal tu command when speaking since the same form is used? Thanks, Kim
Asked 5 months ago
Hola Kimberly
This can only be differentiated by the context. You need to read the whole sentence to see what makes sense. Also, the imperative very often comes with exclamation marks.
For example:
Bebe mucha agua. = He/She drinks a lot of water.
¡Bebe mucha agua! = Drink a lot of water!
Saludos
Inma
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