Imperative with pronouns in Spanish (A2)
Imperative with pronouns
You have already studied how to form the affirmative imperative and the negative imperative (you can click on the link to make a quick revision), but today we are going to focus on how the pronouns work when used with pronouns.
Pronouns with an imperative affirmative
In positive imperative, i.e. when telling someone to do something, object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb. An accent can be added to keep the stress in the same place as it would be without the pronoun.
Háblale. (Speak to him).
Dime. (Tell me).
Hazlo tu mismo. (Do it yourself).
- When nos is attached to the nosotros form, you drop the final –s:
Levantemos – Levantémonos. (Let’s stand up).
- And when os is attached to the vosotros form, you drop the final –d. You also add an accent for –ir verbs.
Sentad – Sentaos. (Sit down).
Notice that an accent has to be added, sometimes to keep the strong consonant in the right place.
Pronouns with the imperative negative.
- To tell someone not to do something, you put the subject pronouns before the negative imperative to emphasis.
Tú no abras la ventana. (Don’t open the window).
Usted no espere aquí. (Don’t wait here).
Ustedes no olviden llamarnos (Don’t forget to call us!).
Object pronouns come also before the verb in the negative imperative, compare:
No me hables. (Don’t speak to me).
Háblame. (Speak to me).
No nos escribas. (Don’t write to us).
Escríbenos. (Write to us).
Pronouns with imperatives examples
Many everyday expressions are imperatives:
¿Diga?/¿Dígame? (Hello, Speak to me – on the phone).
¡No me digas! (You don’t say!).
Oigame (Lisen to me).
Discúlpeme (Excuse me).
Póngame una cerveza, por favor. (Give me a beer, please)
¡Vaya casa! (What a house!).
Imperative and the pronouns exercises
Practice how to use the object pronouns with commands with the exercise below. Remember you can contact your tutor with any question you have about the imperative and the pronouns. Don’t you have a Spanish personal tutor yet?
Leave us a message if you want we prepare more activities about this topic. Thanks for helping us to improve.
