Los mandatos
The best way to explain the patterns for commands without
getting confused is to first go over the conjugations for usted and ustedes and
explain positive and negative commands fully and then go into tú. This is exactly what I am going to do.
Usted, affirmative
·
Step 1: Identify the type of verb and whether or
not it is irregular.
For this
example we are going to use both an –ar and –ir verb, “hablar” and “vivir” respectively. Both of these verbs are
regular.
·
Step 2: Conjugate according to audience and
according to intentions.
The
audience has already been identified as being formal, or usted. We want to tell them to
do something, so the intentions are affirmative.
You will
notice that the imperative (mandatos) conjugations are the same as the present tense subjunctive. If you are having trouble
remembering them you can use this fact as a memory
aid. This will also assist you in remembering how to conjugate the irregular forms.
Regular –ar
verbs
1. Hablar
(identify the infinitive form of the verb)
2. Hablo
(conjugate in the first person indicative)
3. Hablo
(drop the “-o”)
4. Habl-….
Hable (once you have identified the root, add the last letter of the verb according to the opposite type of letter ending. For example, all –ar verbs end with
an “e” and all –ir and –er verbs end
with an “a”)
Regular –ir
and –er verbs, again, conjugate the verb according to the steps above but finish the conjugation with an “a” in
place of a “i” or “e”.
1. Vivir
2. Vivo
3. Vivo
4. Viv-….
Viva
Ustedes, affirmative
In order to
conjugate into the affirmative of ustedes, simply follow the rules above and then add an “n” to the end of the word:
-ar
1. Hablar
2. Hablo
3. Hablo
4. Habl-….
Hable
5. Hablen
-ir and
–er
1. Vivir
2. Vivo
3. Vivio
4. Viv-….
Viva
5. Vivan
Irregulars
Some Spanish learners try to use the “trick” of simply
dropping the “r” at the end of the word and then changing the last letter.
While this can work for most verbs the problems start when you get to the
irregular verbs.
For example, the work “hacer”, when the “r” is dropped and
the “e” is swapped makes “haca”. Not only is this incorrect, it just sounds
weird.
Some of the most common irregulars are: dar, decir, estar, hacer, ir, poner, salir, and
venir.
These verbs are also very irregular in the tú form.
Usted/ustedes negative
This conjugation is straight forward. When a verb is being
used in a negative imperative for usted or ustedes you must simply put “no” in
front of the verb.
Ex.
No venga
aquí
No compren
los boletos, ya tengo tres.
Tú
Affirmative
To conjugate the affirmative in the tú form for regular
verbs you should conjugate the verb into the third person indicative.
Speak
Hablar
Habla
So this conjugation is fairly simple.
Irregulars
Irregular verbs in the tú form can be very tricky and it may
be best to simply memorize them. The common irregulars from above in the tú
form are as follows:
Dar- da
Decir- di
Estar- está
Hacer- haz
Ir- ve
Poner- pon
Salir- sal
Venir- ven
Tú
negative
This is where the imperative gets a bit confusing. Here the
imperative conjugation goes back to being the same as the subjunctive.
Hablar- no
hables
Vivir- no vivas
The common irrgulars are still irregular, but only as they
would be in the subjunctive.
Ser vs. Estar
The main things to remember when using ser or estar are that
ser conveys an idea of permanence whereas estar is used to express locations
and conditions.
Ser
As a rule of thumb ser is used when speaking of a
description, origin, or time.
Descriptions- when you are describing something you are
stating a characteristic of that person or object that is generally unchanging:
Soy Scott- I am Scott
Son
abogados- They are lawyers
Norma es mi
amiga- Norma is my friend
Angela es
simpática- Angela is kind
Origin- When speaking of the origin of an object or person ser
is used because the item’s origin will never change.
Alberto es
de Argentina- Alberto is from Argentina
Pinocho es de madera- Pinocchio is made of Wood
Time-
Time is always described using ser.
Era las 9
en la noche cuando…- It was 9 at night when…
Son las 2- It’s 2 o’clock
Hoy es lunes- Today is Monday
Estar
Estar is used to convey ideas of location and condition;
these things are considered changing.
Location-
Estoy en el
parque- I’m in the park
La esponja
está abajo del fregadero- The sponge is under the sink
Condition-
Juan está
feliz- Juan is happy
Nosotros
estamos confundidos- We are confused
Subjunctive
The subjunctive is used to express doubt or uncertainty. In
this section we will cover clauses that are expressed with “si”, nominal (or
noun) clauses and adverbial clauses.
“Si” Clauses-
I general way to tell if the clause will be the imperfect subjunctive in a clause with “si”
is to say the relative English sentence in your head. Are you saying “If I had…”
or “If I were…”? If the answer is a yes then it is a “si” clause that utilizes
the imperfect subjunctive.
Si fuera el rey…- If I were king…
Si tuviera más dinero, compraría un carro- If I had more
money I would buy a car.
Nominal Clauses-
This type of subjunctive utilizes the second clause as a
noun.
Mi mamá no quiere que yo
salga sin limpiar la casa- My mom doesn’t want me to leave without cleaning
the house
Ojalá que te
diviertas a la universidad- I hope that you have fun at the university
Adverbial Clauses-
This is the one that our professor showed us where the
difference is between searching for a
house and the house. The examples she gave were:
“Paolo
buscaba a una persona que le ayudara
con su tarea”
(versus)
“Paolo
buscaba a la persona que le ayudó con su tarea ayer”
Preterite
vs. Imperfect
The most basic use of the preterite is used simply to speak
of something that occurred once in the past (has a beginning and ending) whereas
the imperfect is used to express a reoccurring event.
Preterite-
Fueron a San
Diego ayer- They went to San Diego
yesterday.
Terminé mi tarea
la semana pasada- I finished my
homework last week.
Imperfect-
Caminaba al supermercado
cuando me di cuenta que olvidé mi cartera- I was walking to the supermarket
when I realized that I forgot my wallet
Caminaba a mi trabajo todos los días.- I used to
walk to work every day.
If you have any questions or you notice a mistake please let me know.
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