¡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 pronouns are 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!
