36. Familiar Tú Commands
Source: A Complete Guide To Every Fundamental In Spanish (The Conclusion)
Tú commands are the singular informal way to tell someone what to do. Spanish modifies the verb itself (no pronoun needed), and the affirmative and negative forms use different patterns.
Key Rules
- Affirmative regular tú command = the third-person singular (él) form of the present indicative:
habla, come, vive.
- Negative regular tú command = drop the infinitive ending and add
-es (-ar) or -as (-er/-ir), with no in front: no hables, no comas, no vivas.
- Irregular affirmative tú commands:
ven, di, sal, haz, ten, ve, pon, sé (Vidi Sal Haz Ten Ve Pon Sé).
- Negative irregular yo verbs use the yo-stem +
-as/-es: no digas, no hagas, no pongas, no salgas, no traigas, no vengas, no veas, no conduzcas.
- Verbs ending in -car/-gar/-zar spell-change in the negative:
practicar → no practiques, jugar → no juegues, organizar → no organices.
- Stem changes are kept in both affirmative and negative forms.
- Other irregular negatives:
no des, no seas, no estés, no vayas, no sepas.
- Object pronouns: attach to the affirmative (with an accent if needed) —
dímelo; place before the verb in the negative — no me lo digas.
- Reflexives: affirmative attaches
te with accent: levántate, duérmete. Negative places te before the verb: no te levantes, no te duermas.
Conjugation / Pattern Tables
Regular tú commands
| Verb |
Affirmative |
Negative |
| hablar |
habla |
no hables |
| comer |
come |
no comas |
| vivir |
vive |
no vivas |
| abrir |
abre |
no abras |
Irregular affirmative tú commands
| Verb |
Command |
Meaning |
| venir |
ven |
come |
| decir |
di |
say/tell |
| salir |
sal |
leave |
| hacer |
haz |
do/make |
| tener |
ten |
have |
| ir |
ve |
go |
| poner |
pon |
put |
| ser |
sé |
be |
| ver |
ve |
see |
Irregular negative tú commands
| Verb |
Negative |
| dar |
no des |
| ser |
no seas |
| estar |
no estés |
| ir |
no vayas |
| saber |
no sepas |
| decir |
no digas |
| hacer |
no hagas |
| poner |
no pongas |
| salir |
no salgas |
| traer |
no traigas |
| venir |
no vengas |
| ver |
no veas |
Examples
| Spanish |
English |
| ¡Habla ahora! |
Speak now! |
| ¡No hables! |
Don't speak! |
| ¡Come tu comida! |
Eat your food! |
| ¡Abre la puerta, por favor! |
Open the door, please. |
| Pon tu teléfono en la mesa. |
Put your phone on the table. |
| Haz tu tarea. |
Do your homework. |
| Ven si puedes. |
Come if you can. |
| Ve a la escuela. |
Go to the school. |
| ¡Dímelo! |
Tell it to me! |
| ¡No me lo digas! |
Don't tell me it! |
| ¡Levántate! |
Get up! |
| ¡No te levantes! |
Don't get up! |
| ¡Duérmete! |
Fall asleep! |
| ¡No te duermas! |
Don't fall asleep! |
Notes & Gotchas
ve means both "see" (ver) and "go" (ir). If a follows, it's almost always ir: ve a la escuela.
- Stem-changes survive:
dormir → duerme / no duermas.
- Reflexive
te always pairs with tú commands.
- Double object pronouns require an accent on the stressed syllable when attached:
dímelo, pónselo.