Mandatos

Mandatos

Telling people what to do

Mandatos, o "commands" are how we tell people what to do or not to do. They come in several types in Spanish

• Positive tú commands

• Negative tú commands

• Positive/Negative Usted and Ustedes commands

• Positive/Negative Nosotros commands

• Positive Vosotros commands

• Negative Vosotros commands

To form most commands, we

• Put the verb in the yo form

• Drop the -o

• Add the opposite ending for the subject

• Ej: Escuchen (Uds), No lean (Uds), Salga (Ud)

• This works for negative tú, negative vosotros, all Ud/Uds., and all nosotros

Multiple Choice

How would you tell a group of people in Mexico to speak?

• Hables

• Hablen

• Hablan

• Habla

Multiple Choice

How would you tell your principal to listen?

• Oye

• Oa

• Oiga

• Oigan

Positive tú commands are different

• They're mostly the tú form with the -s

• ej: come, escucha, sale

• There are 8 irregulars because Spanish

Irregular positive tú commands:

• Decir- di

• Hacer- haz

• Poner- pon

• Ir- ve

• Salir- sal

• Ser- sé

• Tener- ten, Venir- ven

Multiple Choice

How would you tell your friend to listen?

• Escuchas

• Escucha

• Escuches

• Escuche

Multiple Choice

How would you tell a little kid to be nice?

• Ser simpático

• Eres simpático

• Se simpático

• Sé simpático

Multiple Choice

How would you tell your friend to do the homework?

• Hace la tarea

• Haz la tarea

• Haga la tarea

• Hagas la tarea

Negative tú commands start with no, then go to the yo form, drop the -o, and add the opposite tú ending

• Ej: No camines

• Ej: No leas

• Ej: No pongas sal en el cereal

There are six irregulars in the negative tú commands. They correspond to the yo forms that don't end in -o

• Saber- No sepas

• Ser- No seas

• Ir- No vayas

• Dar- No des

• Estar- No estés

• Haber- No hayas

Multiple Choice

How do you tell a kid not to be mean?

• No ser antipático

• No eres antipático

• No ere antipático

• No seas antipático

Multiple Choice

How do you tell your friend not to open the book?

• No abre el libro

• No abra el libro

• No abres el libro

• No abras el libro

If your positive command has pronouns, attach them to the end and (usually) add accents

• Listen to me: Escúchame

• Read it: Léelo

• Leave: Vete

Multiple Choice

How would you tell a sibling to wake up?

• Despiértete

• Despiértate

• Te despierta

• Te despiertas

Multiple Choice

How would you tell a friend to put on their shoes?

• Ponte los zapatos

• Pónete los zapatos

• Póngate los zapatos

• Te pones los zapatos

Usted and Ustedes commands, both positive and negative, work like negative tú commands

• Escuche; No escuche; Escuchen; No escuchen

• Vaya; No vaya; Vayan; No vayan

• Dé; No dé; Den; No den

Multiple Choice

How would you tell a stranger to go to the corner?

• Ve a la esquina

• Vaya a la esquina

• Va a la esquina

• Ir a la esquina

Multiple Choice

How would you tell a group of strangers to have fun?

• Se divierten

• Se diviertan

• Diviértanse

• Diviértense

Recap:

• Positive tú commands: tú form minus the -s

• Eight irregulars: di, haz, pon, ve, sal, sé, ten, ven

• Negative tú, Usted, Ustedes commands: yo form, drop -o, add opposite ending

• Six irregulars: sepa, sea, vaya, dé, esté, haya

• Positive commands: add pronouns to the end

• Negative commands: put pronouns between "no" and the verb