Spanish Imperative

RULES AND USES OF THE IMPERATIVE

The imperative can be used in the following situations.

The imperative is used in situations involving: direct commands, requests and giving advice.

Camina a la tienda.
Walk to the store.

Por favor, no llore.
Please don't cry.

You can also use the present or future tenses to form a command.

Harás tu tarea.
You will do your homework.

Viajará a Barcelona.
You will travel to Barcelona.

The imperative mood can also be expressed using 'vamos a + infinitive'.

¡Vamos a jugar!
Let's play!

¡Vamos a cantar!
Let's sing.

Indirect commands can be made using 'que' and the formal form (ud, uds). You do not need the subjunctive in this situation.

Que investigue en la biblioteca.
Investigate in the library.

Que desayune bien.
Eat a good breakfast.

Learn to conjugate regular verbs in the imperative form that end in 'ar', 'er' and 'ir'.

Learn to conjugate irregular and stem-changing verbs in the imperative form.

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