Irregular imperatives in Spanish are important to learn. After learning the imperative tense, you will be able to understand Spanish command words and how to conjugate them. Though we’ve covered the basics, there are irregular forms for a handful of words that come up often. Once you learn the trick for regular Spanish imperatives, you can move on to irregular commands. Irregular imperatives in Spanish are harder to catch. You need to memorize the word to know what to listen for. Knowing these irregular forms will give you an advantage in your listening fluency.
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1. Ser: se
This irregular imperative is useful for telling people how to behave. Parents and people in authority use this form of ser (to be) a lot. As we know, Spanish has four versions of imperative commands: tú, Usted, nosotras/os, and Ustedes listed below in order.
| Subject | Positive Form | Negative Form | Positive Translation | Negative Translation |
| Tú | Se amable | No seas amable | Be nice (informal) | Don’t be nice (informal) |
| Usted | Sea amable | No sea amable | Be nice (formal) | Don’t be nice (formal) |
| Nosotros/as | Seamos amables | No seamos amables | Let’s be nice | Let’s not be nice |
| Ustedes | Sean amables | No sean amables | Be (you all) nice | Don’t be (you all) nice |
Note: For Usted, nosotros and Ustedes, the affirmative and negative use the same form (sea/no sea). There is no difference in spelling or pronunciation. Only the tú format changes when you compare the affirmative vs. negative of the Spanish imperative command.
2. Poner: pon
For this example, let’s use poner atención, an idiomatic expression. Spanish idioms are common phrases that don’t translate directly into English. Poner atención means “pay attention” but it translates literally to “put attention”.
| Subject | Positive Form | Negative Form | Positive Translation | Negative Translation |
| Tú | Pon atención | No pongas atención | Pay attention (informal) | Don’t pay attention (informal) |
| Usted | Ponga atención | No ponga atención | Pay attention (informal) | Don’t pay attention (informal) |
| Nosotros/as | Pongamos atención | No pongamos atención | Let’s pay attention | Let’s not pay attention |
| Ustedes | Pongan atención | No pongan atención | Pay (you all) attention (informal) | Don’t pay (you all) attention (informal) |
3. Ir: ve
The Spanish imperative version of ir (to go) is good for giving directions.
| Subject | Positive Form | Negative Form | Positive Translation | Negative Translation |
| Tú | Ve al parque | No vayas al parque | Go to the park (informal) | Don’t go to the park (informal) |
| Usted | Vaya al parque | No vaya al parque | Go to the park (informal) | Don’t go to the park (informal) |
| Nosotros/as | Vayamos al parque | No vayamos* al parque | Let’s go to the park | Let’s not go to the park |
| Ustedes | Vayan al parque | No vayan al parque | Go (you all) to the park (informal) | Don’t go (you all) to the park (informal) |
*Did you notice this form changes from affirmative vs. negative? Irregular verbs can be tricky sometimes.
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4. Decir: di
Our language teachers use this command in Spanish every day to tell students what to say and how to say it.
| Subject | Positive Form | Negative Form | Positive Translation | Negative Translation |
| Tú | Di eso | No digas eso | Say that (informal) | Don’t say that (informal) |
| Usted | Diga eso | No diga eso | Say that (informal) | Don’t say that (informal) |
| Nosotros/as | Digamos eso | No digamos eso | Let’s say that | Let’s not say that |
| Ustedes | Digan eso | No digan eso | Say (you all) that (informal) | Don’t say (you all) that (informal) |
5. Hacer: haz
The verb hacer (to do/make) is used a lot as an imperative command in Spanish. We have talked about Spanish phrases to use at work and 25 Spanish vocabulary words for the office already. If you are a manager, be sure to add this one to your vocabulary.
| Subject | Positive Form | Negative Form | Positive Translation | Negative Translation |
| Tú | Haz esto | No haggis esto | Do this (informal) | Don’t do this (informal) |
| Usted | Haga esto | No haga esto | Do this (informal) | Don’t say thatdo this (informal) |
| Nosotros/as | Hagamos esto | No hagamos esto | Let’s do this | Let’s not do this |
| Ustedes | Hagan esto | No hagan esto | Do (you all) this (informal) | Don’t do (you all) this (informal) |
6. Tener: ten
The Spanish imperative form of tener (to have/take) is useful when you see somebody doing a dangerous activity. If you see a small child climbing the stairs alone, you can say “take care”.
| Subject | Positive Form | Negative Form | Positive Translation | Negative Translation |
| Tú | Ten cuidado | No tengas cuidado | Take care (informal) | Don’t take care (informal) |
| Usted | Tenga cuidado | No tenga cuidado | Take care (informal) | Don’t take care (informal) |
| Nosotros/as | Tengamos cuidado | No tengamos cuidado | Let’s take care | Let’s not take care |
| Ustedes | Tengan cuidado | No tengan | Take (you all) care (informal) | Don’t take (you all) care (informal) |
We often tell students to watch TV and movies in Spanish for listening practice. My favorite television series of all time is the gripping ¿Donde Está Elisa? (2009). This crime telenovela (soap opera) is the perfect way to learn Chilean Spanish and study imperatives. The main character Raimundo Dominguez is constantly telling people what to do. All 113 episodes are now available on YouTube. Ten cuidado (be careful) and get ready to binge-watch because this one is super addictive.
¡Vamos! (Let’s go!)
Have you ever struggled to understand the irregular imperative tense in Spanish? Or maybe you’re hesitant to use it because you’re unsure of the correct conjugation. Don’t worry, you’re not alone! In this blog post, we covered everything you need to know about the irregular imperative tense in Spanish. But knowledge alone is not enough! To truly take your communication skills to the next level, practice is key. Don’t miss this opportunity to boost your confidence and take your fluency in Spanish to the next level. ¡Vamos!
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