Spanish tú commands: affirmative, negative and 32 examples

Spanish tú commands

How do Spanish tú commands work?

For a regular affirmative tú command, use the third-person singular present form: hablar → habla, comer → come, vivir → vive. Stem changes remain: pensar → piensa, volver → vuelve, pedir → pide.

For a negative tú command, put no before the present-subjunctive tú form: no hables, no comas, no vivas. Spelling changes preserve the sound: buscar → no busques, llegar → no llegues, empezar → no empieces.

Memorise the eight compact irregular affirmative forms: decir → di, hacer → haz, ir → ve, poner → pon, salir → sal, ser → sé, tener → ten, venir → ven. Their negative forms follow the subjunctive: no digas, no hagas, no vayas, no pongas, no salgas, no seas, no tengas, no vengas.

Choose the form in three steps

Confirm that the listener is one person you address as tú. For vos, usted, ustedes or vosotros, use a different command form.

Choose affirmative or negative, then build the regular, stem-changing or irregular form.

With an affirmative command, attach object or reflexive pronouns and add a written accent when the stress rules require it: dime, siéntate, dímelo. With a negative command, put pronouns before the verb: no me digas, no te sientes.

32 Spanish tú-command examples

The examples cover regular affirmative commands, eight irregular forms, negative commands, spelling changes and pronoun placement.

Learn tú commands in four blocks

Start with regular affirmative forms, memorise the eight irregulars, build negatives and finish with pronouns.

When should you not use a tú command?

Use tú with one person in an informal relationship where tuteo is normal. Use usted for a formal singular listener; use ustedes for a plural audience in Latin America and for formal plural address in Spain.

In many regions, especially the Río de la Plata and parts of Central America, vos replaces tú and has its own affirmative forms such as hablá, comé and viví. This page teaches tuteo, not voseo.

A command can sound abrupt without context. Por favor, cuando puedas, ¿puedes…? and the conditional can make a request softer. Grammar alone does not decide the social tone.

Hola Cards is a Spanish flashcard app from holacards.org for iOS and Android. It is free to download, requires no account, has no ads, and works offline. The interface is available in English, Russian, and Portuguese; cards support translations in 28 languages and 18 practice and game modes. You can import these fixed command sentences into a custom group and practise them with Spanish audio, writing, pronunciation, and review modes. Hola Cards does not conjugate commands or check pronoun placement automatically, so verify each sentence with this guide first.

Connect commands with the present subjunctive, object pronouns, reflexive pronouns, present-tense forms and classroom phrases.

Direct object pronouns / Indirect object pronouns / Reflexive pronouns / Present-tense endings / Classroom phrases

A five-minute command routine

1. Say habla, come and vive, then make each one negative.
2. Recall di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten and ven without looking.
3. Turn two stem-changing presents into affirmative commands: piensa and vuelve.
4. Add one pronoun to an affirmative command and place it before a negative command.
5. Say each full pair aloud: hazlo / no lo hagas; siéntate / no te sientes.

Grammar references

The forms, pronoun placement and A2 teaching scope were checked against primary RAE–ASALE and Instituto Cervantes sources.

• RAE–ASALE: Spanish conjugation models
• RAE–ASALE: unstressed pronouns joined to verb forms
• Instituto Cervantes A2: affirmative tú and usted commands

**Spanish tú commands: 32 examples**

Habla más despacio, por favor. - Speak more slowly, please.
Come algo antes de salir. - Eat something before leaving.
Vive el momento. - Live in the moment.
Piensa antes de responder. - Think before answering.
Vuelve a casa temprano. - Come home early.
Pide la cuenta, por favor. - Ask for the bill, please.
Busca las llaves en la mesa. - Look for the keys on the table.
Cierra la puerta al salir. - Close the door when you leave.
Di la verdad. - Tell the truth.
Haz la tarea ahora. - Do the homework now.
Ve al médico mañana. - Go to the doctor tomorrow.
Pon el libro aquí. - Put the book here.
Sal por la puerta principal. - Leave through the main door.
Sé paciente conmigo. - Be patient with me.
Ten cuidado con el escalón. - Be careful with the step.
Ven conmigo. - Come with me.
No hables tan rápido. - Do not speak so fast.
No comas aquí. - Do not eat here.
No vivas con miedo. - Do not live in fear.
No digas nada todavía. - Do not say anything yet.
No hagas ruido. - Do not make noise.
No vayas solo. - Do not go alone.
No busques una excusa. - Do not look for an excuse.
No llegues tarde. - Do not arrive late.
Dime tu nombre. - Tell me your name.
Hazlo con calma. - Do it calmly.
Siéntate aquí. - Sit down here.
Dímelo mañana. - Tell it to me tomorrow.
No me digas eso. - Do not tell me that.
No lo hagas ahora. - Do not do it now.
No te sientes allí. - Do not sit there.
No me lo pongas aquí. - Do not put it here for me.