Commands

Affirmative: use the él form of the present

• Habla más despacio.Speak more slowly.
• Come algo.Eat something.
• Abre la puerta.Open the door.

Negative: no + present subjunctive

• No hables.Don't speak.
• No comas eso.Don't eat that.
• No abras la puerta.Don't open the door.

Eight verbs have short affirmative forms: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven

• Di la verdad.Tell the truth.
• Haz la tarea.Do your homework.
• Ve a la tienda.Go to the store.
• Pon la mesa.Set the table.
• Sal de aquí.Get out of here.
• Sé bueno.Be good.
• Ten cuidado.Be careful.
• Ven acá.Come here.

Their negatives are regular subjunctives: no digas, no hagas, no vayas, no pongas, no salgas, no seas, no tengas, no vengas.

Both affirmative and negative use the present subjunctive

• Pase, señora.Come in, ma'am.
• No se preocupe.Don't worry.
• Siéntense, por favor.Sit down, please.
• No corran.Don't run.

Ustedes is the plural for everyone in Latin America

• Niños, coman.Kids, eat.

Spain uses vosotros for friends and family, which you can skip for Latin American Spanish.

Use the present subjunctive

• Comamos.Let's eat.
• No hablemos de eso.Let's not talk about that.

Vamos a + infinitive is more common in speech

• Vamos a comer.Let's eat.

Ir uses vamos, and vámonos with a pronoun

• Vamos a la playa.Let's go to the beach.
• Vámonos, ya es tarde.Let's get going, it's late.

The final -s drops before nos

• Sentémonos aquí.Let's sit here.

Pronouns attach to affirmative commands, often adding a written accent

• Cómelo.Eat it.
• Llámame.Call me.
• Levántate.Get up.

Pronouns go before negative commands

• No lo comas.Don't eat it.
• No me llames.Don't call me.
• No te levantes.Don't get up.

Questions in the present are a natural, polite way to ask

• ¿Me pasas la sal?Can you pass me the salt?
• ¿Puede ayudarme?Can you help me?

Por favor softens any command

• Cierra la puerta, por favor.Close the door, please.