Imperative mood

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Also Known As: Modo imperativo in Spanish. In English, the imperative mood is often referred to simply as a command

Definition: The verb mood that is used for making commands and requests. In Spanish, the imperative mood as strictly understood can be used only in the familiar second person (tú and vosotros). However, the term "imperative" is frequently used for commands given in the formal second person (usted and ustedes) as well as the first-person plural (nosotros and nosotras). In those cases, and well as with negative commands, it is technically the subjunctive mood that is being used.

In English, the imperative mood can be made by using a simple unconjugated form of the verb without any subject attached. For example, the complete sentence Go! is in the imperative mood; the subject you need not be stated.

In Spanish, the tú form of the imperative usually uses the same conjugation as the third-person singular indicative. Thus a verb such as estudia can, depending on the context, mean either you study (as a command) or he/she studies. When a pronoun is used in the Spanish imperative, it typically follows the verb: estudia tú.

The plural (vosotros) form of the imperative is always formed by changing the final r of the infinitive to a d. Thus estudiad means study as a command to multiple listeners. The vosotros imperative is very rare in Latin America; the ustedes form of the subjunctive is used instead.

Note that the imperative mood as strictly understood cannot be used in the negative, i.e., with a no. The negative subjunctive must be used instead.

Examples:

All but the underline verbs technically are in the subjunctive mood. Note that the pronouns are optional and are included for clarity.

habla tú
speak (as a familiar singular command)

no hables tú
don't speak (as a familiar singular command)

hable usted
you speak (as a formal singular command)

hablemos
let's speak

hablad
speak (as a familiar plural command)

no habléis
don't speak (as a familiar plural command)

hablen ustedes
speak (as a formal plural command).

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