Commands for tú, vosotros and usted — and where the pronouns go
The affirmative tú command is just the él/ella form of the present: habla, come, escribe.
¡Habla más despacio! (Speak more slowly!)
¡Abre la ventana! (Open the window!)
Eight irregulars to memorise: pon (poner), ven (venir), haz (hacer), di (decir), sal (salir), ten (tener), ve (ir), sé (ser).
Vosotros commands swap the infinitive's -r for -d. Usted commands use the subjunctive form.
Vosotros: hablar → ¡Hablad! · comer → ¡Comed! · venir → ¡Venid!
Usted: ¡Hable! · ¡Coma! · ¡Venga! (polite commands = subjunctive)
In a restaurant you'll hear usted commands constantly: pase (come in), siéntese (sit down), diga (hello? on the phone).
ALL negative commands — tú included — use no + present subjunctive. The affirmative tú form disappears.
¡Habla! → ¡No hables! (Don't speak!)
¡Ven! → ¡No vengas! (Don't come!)
¡Hazlo! → ¡No lo hagas! (Don't do it!)
This is why the subjunctive (G18) matters so early — half of all commands need it.
Pronouns attach to the end of affirmative commands but go before negative ones. Watch the accent appear to keep the stress.
¡Dímelo! (Tell it to me!) — di + me + lo, accent added
¡No me lo digas! (Don't tell me!) — pronouns float free before the verb
¡Levántate! / ¡No te levantes! (Get up! / Don't get up!)
Order stays me/te/se before lo/la: dímelo, dáselo — never "dilome".
Bare imperatives can sound brusque. Spanish softens with these tools:
¿Puedes cerrar la puerta? (Can you close the door?)
¿Me pasas la sal, por favor? (Pass me the salt? — present as polite request)
Cierra la puerta, anda. (Close the door, go on — softener words: anda, venga, hombre)
Spaniards actually use imperatives more freely than English speakers — with por favor or a softener, they're perfectly polite.
Traps for English speakers
These are the errors English speakers make most often.