Places in the city: Using formal commands to give information

What is a command?

Telling someone what to do.Tone is important.

Why use a formal command? Who would we use one with?

We use formal commands to maintain distance with someone, either because we don’t know him or her, we want to set a formal tone, or because we want to establish a certain type of relationship.

We use formal commands with:

Strangers/All adults (possibly)/Adults in positions of authority

Let’s review--which are the formal pronouns in Spanish?

Ud.—UstedMeans “You” with respect

Uds.—UstedesMeans “You all”

Ud. / Uds. Commands

How do we form an Ud/Uds. command so it’s clear it is the imperative (command)?

Ud./uds. Commands

To form the commandsTake the “yo”Drop the “o”Opposite vowel (ar have “e”, and -er/-ir

have “a”)If plural, add “n”To make it negative, put “no” before the

verb. ¡Fácil!

To form the command COMERTake the “yo” ComoDrop the “o” ComOpposite vowel Coma Ud.If plural, add “n” Coman Uds.Coma conmigo, por favor.—Eat with me, please.

To form the command HABLARTake the “yo” HabloDrop the “o” HablOpposite vowel Hable Ud.If plural, add “n” Hablen Uds.No hablen Uds. ahora. –Don’t talk now.

You try!

Vivir--To live1. Vivo2. Viv3. Viva4. Vivan5. No Viva(n)

Estudiar—to study1. Estudio2. Estudi3. Estudie4. Estudien5. No estudien6. Meaning? Study/don’t study

You try!

Salir—to leave/go outSalgoSalga(n)Salgan por la puerta a la izquierda.

Tener—to haveTengoTenga(n)Tenga su pasaporte en mano.

Pay attention to “Yo-go” verbs--they keep the spelling

Other “yo-go” verbs

Decir-to SayVenir-to comeHacer-to makePoner-to put

Digo-Diga(n)Vengo-Venga(n)Hago-Haga(n)Pongo-Ponga(n)

Diga Ud. la verdad./Tell the truth.¡Venga Ud. a México!/Come to Mexico!No hagan página 23./Don’t do page 23.Pongan sus papeles aquí/Put your papers here.

Also, pay attention to verbs with stem-changes (e-ie) (o-ue) (e-i)

Volver—to returnVuelvoVuelva(n)Vuelvan Uds. a las 3 a la catedral.

Contar—to count/tellCuentoCuente(n) Cuenten la historia, otra vez.

-car/-gar/-zar verbs

-car/-gar/-zar verbs will have the same change that they do in the preterite and with negative tú commands.

Ud. / Uds. Commands

-car becomes -queBuscar—to look forbuscobusce(n)--incorrectbusque(n)Busquen Uds. el cruce de Independencia

y McDermott.

-car/-gar/-zar verbs as formal commands

Ud. / Uds. Commands

-gar becomes –gueLlegar—to arriveLlegoLlege--incorrectoLlegue(n)Llegue Ud. a la parada de autobús a las

3:10; no llegue tarde, porque sale a tiempo.

-car/-gar/-zar verbs as formal commands

-zar becomes –ceEmpezar (e-ie)—to beginEmpiezoEmpieze--incorrectoEmpieceEmpiece Ud. el examen.

Ud. / Uds. Commands-car/-gar/-zar verbs as formal

commands

Ud. / Uds. Commands

Recoger (to pick up) has a spelling change in the yo form.

Yo = recojoRecoja(n)Recoja Ud. su pasaporte de la oficina.

Other verbs with spelling changes

Ud. / Uds. Commands

Seguir (e-i)(to continue/ follow/go on) also has an irregular yo form.

Yo sigoSiga(n)Siga derecho dos cuadras hasta el

semáforo.

Other verbs with spelling changes

Ud. / Uds. Commands

Verbs that have irregular forms have the same irregularities as with the negative tú commands (Remember those?)

Irregulares

Dar (to give)Estar (to be)Saber (to know)Ser ( to be)Ir (to go)

Dé(n)Esté(n)Sepa(n)Sea(n)Vaya(n)

Práctica

Comer Saber Abrir Comprar Lavar Buscar Leer Ser Ir

Coma Sepa Abra Compre Lave Busque Lea Sea Vaya