Affirmative informal (t) commands

T commands are the singular form of informal commands. To tell a friend, family member,
classmate, child, or pet to do something, use the affirmative t command. To tell one of those same
people not to do something, use the negative t command. This article covers the affirmative
informal command (informal imperative) in all its forms.

Compra (t) los libros. (Buy the books.) - affirmative

No camines (t) en el csped. (Dont walk on the grass.) - negative

Affirmative Informal T Command Forms

For the familiar affirmative commands, you will simply use the 3rd person singular form of the present
indicative.
-AR verbs: Add the 3rd person singular ending -a to the stem

(Comprar) Compra la camisa. (Buy the shirt.)

-ER verbs: Add the 3rd person singular ending -e to the stem

(Aprender) Aprende espaol! (Learn Spanish!)

-IR verbs: Add the 3rd person singular ending -e to the stem

(Escribir) Escribe el ensayo! (Write the essay!)

For verbs with stem changes or spelling changes in the present tense, the stem or spelling change still
applies.

(Cerrar) Cierra la puerta. (Close the door.)

(Mover) Mueve esas sillas. (Move those chairs.)

(Incluir) Incluye tu informacin aqu. (Include your information here.)

Irregular Affirmative Informal T Commands

All irregular 3rd person singular present indicative verbs keep that same irregularity in the affirmative
informal command except the following 8 verbs which have a special irregular form in the affirmative
command.

decir di salir sal

ha
hacer
ser s
z
tene te
ir
ve
r
n
ponerpo veni ve

Pronoun Placement with Commands

Pronoun placement: the pronoun is attached to the end of affirmative commands and the verb carries a
tilde to maintain its original stress.

Tremelo. (Bring it to me.)

Dgasela. (Tell it to her.)

Cmpraselo. (Buy it for him.)

Ponte los zapatos. (Put on your shoes.)

Punctuation to the Rescue!

Because the informal t command (imperative) is the same conjugation form as the 3rd person singular, it
is helpful to include exclamation points to indicate urgency or the name of the person you are
commanding followed by a comma. Without the comma, your sentence is just the 3rd person singular
present indicative. Compare the following sentences written with different punctuation:

Compra la camisa. (She buys the shirt.) - present indicative

Compra la camisa! (Buy the shirt!) - informal imperative

Alicia compra la camisa. (Alicia buys the shirt.) - present indicative

Alicia, compra la camisa. (Alicia, buy the shirt.) - informal imperative

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