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Formal Commands!Formal Commands!

Ten-Hut!

In this presentation, you will learn about making commands in Spanish.

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Commands in English…Commands in English…

… are pretty easy. You just use a base verb form (without a subject, since it’s always “you”) to tell people what they should do:

Stand up! Sit down! Do your homework! Take out the garbage! Be quiet!

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Commands in English…Commands in English…

… and what they shouldn’t do: Don’t write in your books!

Don’t speak English in Spanish class!

Don’t be silly!

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Commands in Spanish…Commands in Spanish…

… are little more complicated because we have so many ways of saying “you”:

Tú: informal, singular Vosotros: informal, plural

Ud.: formal, singular Uds.: formal, plural

However, we will concentrate on the formal commands only.

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Let’s look at a few Let’s look at a few examples!examples!

Hable despacio, por favor.¡Repita, por favor.!Siéntese Ud. aquí.Entreguen Uds. la tarea.Hagan el ejercicio B.No hagan el ejercicio A.¡No se levante Ud.!¡No corran en la clase!

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Hable despacio, por Hable despacio, por favor.favor.

The speaker is talking to one person.Can you figure out how we got the form “hable”?Take the “yo” form of the present: HABLODrop the –o: HABL-“Hablar” is an –AR verb, so add –E to form the command: HABLE

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Repita, por favor.Repita, por favor.

The speaker is talking to one person.Can you figure out how we got the form “repita”?Take the “yo” form of the present: REPITODrop the –o: REPIT-“Repetir” is an –IR verb, so add –A to form the command: REPITA

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Opposite vowelsOpposite vowels

Think of the verb adding the “opposite vowel”:AR verbs add an –E.ER & IR verbs add an –A.

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Let’s try a couple!Let’s try a couple!

Comer: ¡______ Ud.!¡Coma Ud.!Escribir: ¡_____ Ud.!¡Escriba Ud.!Tomar: ¡_____ Ud.!¡Tome Ud.!Entregar: ¡_____ la tarea!

¡Entregue la tarea! Note the spelling change because of the final –g sound.

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Uds…Uds…

Entreguen Uds. la tarea.Right! Just add an –N to the command form when you are talking to more than one person.

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Let’s try a couple Let’s try a couple more!more!

Comer: ¡______ Uds.!¡Coman Uds.!Escribir: ¡_____ Uds.!¡Escriban Uds.!Tomar: ¡_____ Uds.!¡Tomen Uds.!Comenzar: ¡_____ el examen!

¡Comiencen el examen! Note the spelling change because of the final –z.

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¡Levántese!¡Levántese!

What about reflexive verbs?¡Levántese! / ¡Siéntese!In affirmative commands, all objects are attached to the end of the verb. Levante + se Levanten + se

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¡No!¡No!

How do we make negative commands in Spanish? ¡No fume! ¡No tome café! ¡No coma tanto!

Right – simply put the word NO in front of the command form.

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¡No se levante!¡No se levante!

What about reflexive verbs?¡No se levante! ¡No se siénte!In negative commands, all objects precede the verb. No se levante. No se levanten. No se siente. No se sienten.

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Some irregularsSome irregulars

What would a lesson be without a few irregulars to make it interesting?? Can you guess where these forms come from?

Haga la tarea. Tenga paciencia. Salga ahora. Vuelva a casa. Piense bien. ¡Sé bueno! ¡Esté tranquila!

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¿Qué pasa?¿Qué pasa?

Haga la tarea. Hacer > yo hago > -o + -a

Tenga paciencia. Tener > yo tengo > -o + -a

Salga ahora. Salir > yo salgo > - o + -a

Vuelva a casa. Volver > yo vuelvo > -o + -a

Piense bien. Pensar > yo pienso > -o + -eThese verbs follow the same formula: start with the yo form, drop the –o, and add the opposite vowel.

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Sé, esté, dé, sepa, Sé, esté, dé, sepa, vayavaya

These five verbs are very irregular for a good reason:

Ser > yo soy Estar > yo estoy Dar > yo doy Saber > yo sé Ir > yo voy

The yo form does not end in an –o, so there is no –o to drop when forming the command form.

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¡Terminemos por ahora!¡Terminemos por ahora!

That’s all for now, but learn this concept well – the command form will be very important when we learn about our last verb form this semester – the subjunctive.