¡Hola, amigos! Do you remember the imperative mood? If you need a quick refresher, click here.
In this post, we’ll learn how to use the imperative mood when 1 pronoun is involved. As always, I’ll keep it short and simple!
POSITIVE COMMANDS
When we give a positive command in Spanish and use a pronoun, the pronoun comes directly after the verb and is written as part of the same word. For example:
| SUBJECT | WITHOUT PRONOUN | WITH PRONOUN |
|---|---|---|
| (TÚ) | ¡DA! (GIVE!) | ¡DALE! (GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (USTED) | ¡DÉ! (GIVE!) | ¡DELE! (GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (NOSOTROS) | ¡DEMOS! (LET’S GIVE!) | ¡DÉMOSLE! (LET’S GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (USTEDES) | ¡DEN! (GIVE!) | ¡DENLE! (GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (VOSOTROS) | ¡DAD! (GIVE!) | ¡DADLE! (GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
With nosotros commands, when the verb ends in -s and we add the pronoun nos, we drop the final s.
Example:
¡Demos + nos → ¡Démonos! — Let’s give ourselves!
NEGATIVE COMMANDS
When we give a negative command in Spanish and use a pronoun, the pronoun comes before the verb and is written as a separate word. For example:
| SUBJECT | WITHOUT PRONOUN | WITH PRONOUN |
|---|---|---|
| (TÚ) | ¡NO DES! (DON’T GIVE!) | ¡NO LE DES! (DON’T GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (USTED) | ¡NO DÉ! (DON’T GIVE!) | ¡NO LE DÉ! (DON’T GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (NOSOTROS) | ¡NO DEMOS! (LET’S NOT GIVE!) | ¡NO LE DEMOS! (LET’S NOT GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (USTEDES) | ¡NO DEN! (DON’T GIVE!) | ¡NO LE DEN! (DON’T GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
| (VOSOTROS) | ¡NO DEIS! (DON’T GIVE!) | ¡NO LE DEIS! (DON’T GIVE HIM/HER/IT!) |
That’s enough theory for now! Let’s play a game to help you master this in no time!
