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Imperatives

How commands, requests and instructions are formed in Spanish, English and Chinese.

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English imperatives use the base form with optional 'please'. Spanish imperatives are fully conjugated and change form for positive vs negative. Chinese imperatives use the verb directly, with 吧bā for softening and 别bié for negation.

Overview

Imperatives express commands, requests, instructions, and suggestions.

Spanish: Fully conjugated with distinct forms for each person. Positive and negative forms differ (indicative vs subjunctive). Object pronouns attach to positive imperatives.
English: Uses the base form of the verb for all persons. Negation with don’t. Very simple but relies heavily on intonation and politeness markers.
Chinese: Uses the verb directly. Particles (吧bā, 啊ā, 嘛má) soften or strengthen the tone. 别bié negates. No person or tense marking.

Spanish

Person-specific forms

Spanish imperatives change for each person:

	Positive	Negative
tú (informal sing)	¡Ven!	¡No vengas!
usted (formal sing)	¡Venga!	¡No venga!
vosotros (informal pl Spain)	¡Venid!	¡No vengáis!
ustedes (formal pl / Latin Am)	¡Vengan!	¡No vengan!

Rule: Negative imperatives use the subjunctive.

Common irregular imperatives

Verb	tú	usted	vosotros	ustedes
venir	ven	venga	venid	vengan
ir	ve	vaya	id	vayan
ser	sé	sea	sed	sean
tener	ten	tenga	tened	tengan
hacer	haz	haga	haced	hagan
decir	di	diga	decid	digan
poner	pon	ponga	poned	pongan
salir	sal	salga	salid	salgan

Object pronouns with imperatives

In positive imperatives, pronouns attach to the verb:

¡Dime! (Tell me!)
¡Cuéntamelo! (Tell it to me!)
¡Siéntate! (Sit down!)

In negative imperatives, pronouns precede the verb:

¡No me digas! (Don’t tell me!)
¡No te sientes! (Don’t sit down!)

Politeness strategies

¡Pase! (Come in! — formal)
¡Pasa! (Come in! — informal)
Venga, por favor. (Please come.)
Haga el favor de esperar. (Please wait.)

English

Base form for all

English uses the base form for everyone:

Come!
Sit down!
Listen!
Be quiet!

Negative

Add don’t (do not):

Don’t come!
Don’t be late!
Don’t worry!

Let’s for inclusive

Let’s (let us) includes the speaker:

Let’s go!
Let’s eat!
Let’s not argue. (negative)

Softening

English softens imperatives with various strategies:

Strategy	Example
Please	Please sit down.
Question form	Would you sit down?
Suggestion	Why don’t you sit down?
Softener	Just sit down. / Sit down, will you?
Polite formula	Would you mind sitting down?

Imperative with subject

English can add a subject for emphasis or clarification:

You sit here, and you sit there.
Somebody call a doctor!
Don’t you dare!

Chinese

Bare imperatives

Chinese imperatives use the verb directly:

来lái！(Come!)
坐zuò！(Sit!)
听tīng！(Listen!)
走zǒu！(Go!)

Softening with 吧bā

吧ba softens commands into suggestions:

来lái吧ba！(Come on! / Let’s come.)
坐zuò吧ba！(Have a seat.)
我wǒ们men走zǒu吧ba！(Let’s go!)

Other particles

Particle	Tone	Example
啊a	Friendly, urging	快kuài来lái啊a！(Hurry and come!)
嘛ma	Persuasive	来lái嘛ma！(Come on, please!)
呀ya	Exclamatory	快kuài点diǎn呀ya！(Hurry up!)

Negative: 别bié

别bié negates imperatives:

别bié来lái！(Don’t come!)
别bié担dān心xīn！(Don’t worry!)
别bié走zǒu！(Don’t go!)

不bù要yào as stronger negative

不bù要yào is more emphatic:

不bù要yào碰pèng！(Don’t touch!)
不bù要yào忘wàng记jì！(Don’t forget!)

请qǐng for polite requests

请qǐng (please) precedes the verb:

请qǐng坐zuò。(Please sit.)
请qǐng进jìn。(Please come in.)
请qǐng问wèn…(Excuse me, may I ask…)

Let’s: 我wǒ们mén…吧bā

Chinese uses 我wǒ们mén + verb + 吧bā for inclusive suggestions:

我wǒ们men吃chī饭fàn吧ba！(Let’s eat!)
我wǒ们men走zǒu吧ba！(Let’s go!)

Comparison at a glance

Feature	Spanish	English	Chinese
Form	Conjugated per person	Base form (all persons)	Verb directly
Negative	subjunctive form	don’t + verb	别bié / 不bù要yào + verb
Positive vs negative	Different forms	Same + don’t	Same + 别bié
Politeness	pronoun choice (tú/usted)	please / question form	请qǐng / 吧bā / 啊ā
Inclusive let’s	Vamos a / Vamos	Let’s + verb	我wǒ们mén + verb + 吧bā
Pronoun placement	Attached (pos) / before (neg)	Before verb	Before verb
Irregular forms	Many (ven, di, haz, pon…)	Be (be careful)	None

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
¡Ven* aquí!* (tú) / ¡Venga* aquí!* (usted)	Come here!	过guò来lái！ / 过guò来lái吧bā！
¡No te preocupes!	Don’t worry!	别bié担dān心xīn！
Siéntese, por favor.	Please sit down. / Would you sit down?	请qǐng坐zuò。 / 坐zuò下xià吧bā。
¡Vamos!	Let’s go!	我wǒ们mén走zǒu吧bā！

Common mistakes

English speakers learning Spanish: Using base form for all: venir → ¡Ven!
English speakers learning Spanish: Positive form for negative: No ven → No vengas
English speakers learning Chinese: Adding ‘do’: 做zuò来lái → 来lái
Chinese speakers learning English: Omitting subject in emphatic commands: Sit here (ambiguous) → You sit here, and she sits there.

Pronouns: How object pronouns attach to Spanish imperatives
Modals: How polite requests use modals instead of imperatives
Questions: How question forms soften commands
Verb Tenses: How subjunctive forms are used in negative imperatives

Examples

Positive command (Come!)

¡Ven! (tú) / ¡Venga! (usted)

Negative command (Don't come!)

¡No vengas!

Formal request

Venga usted / Venga, por favor

Person-specific forms

Yes (tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes)

Reflexive imperatives

¡Siéntate! / ¡Levántate!

Softening particle

por favor / a ver

Examples

Positive command (Come!)

Come!

Negative command (Don't come!)

Don't come!

Formal request

Please come / Would you come?

Person-specific forms

No (same for all)

Reflexive imperatives

Sit down! / Get up!

Softening particle

please / just / why don't you

Examples

Positive command (Come!)

来lái！ / 来lái吧bā！

Negative command (Don't come!)

别bié来lái！

Formal request

请qǐng来lái一yī下xià

Person-specific forms

No (same for all)

Reflexive imperatives

坐zuò下xià！ / 起qǐ来lái！

Softening particle

吧bā / 啊ā / 嘛má

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
Positive command (Come!)	¡Ven! (tú) / ¡Venga! (usted)	Come!	来lái！ / 来lái吧bā！
Negative command (Don't come!)	¡No vengas!	Don't come!	别bié来lái！
Formal request	Venga usted / Venga, por favor	Please come / Would you come?	请qǐng来lái一yī下xià
Person-specific forms	Yes (tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes)	No (same for all)	No (same for all)
Reflexive imperatives	¡Siéntate! / ¡Levántate!	Sit down! / Get up!	坐zuò下xià！ / 起qǐ来lái！
Softening particle	por favor / a ver	please / just / why don't you	吧bā / 啊ā / 嘛má

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
Positive command (Come!)	¡Ven! (tú) / ¡Venga! (usted)	Come!	来lái！ / 来lái吧bā！
Negative command (Don't come!)	¡No vengas!	Don't come!	别bié来lái！
Formal request	Venga usted / Venga, por favor	Please come / Would you come?	请qǐng来lái一yī下xià
Person-specific forms	Yes (tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes)	No (same for all)	No (same for all)
Reflexive imperatives	¡Siéntate! / ¡Levántate!	Sit down! / Get up!	坐zuò下xià！ / 起qǐ来lái！
Softening particle	por favor / a ver	please / just / why don't you	吧bā / 啊ā / 嘛má

Examples in context

Positive command (Come!)

Spanish

¡Ven! (tú) / ¡Venga! (usted)

English

Come!

Chinese

来lái！ / 来lái吧bā！

Negative command (Don't come!)

Spanish

¡No vengas!

English

Don't come!

Chinese

别bié来lái！

Formal request

Spanish

Venga usted / Venga, por favor

English

Please come / Would you come?

Chinese

请qǐng来lái一yī下xià

Person-specific forms

Spanish

Yes (tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes)

English

No (same for all)

Chinese

No (same for all)

Reflexive imperatives

Spanish

¡Siéntate! / ¡Levántate!

English

Sit down! / Get up!

Chinese

坐zuò下xià！ / 起qǐ来lái！

Softening particle

Spanish

por favor / a ver

English

please / just / why don't you

Chinese

吧bā / 啊ā / 嘛má

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Fully conjugated with distinct forms for each person. Positive and negative forms differ (indicative vs subjunctive). Object pronouns attach.

English: Uses the base form of the verb for all persons. Negation with don't. Very simple but relies heavily on intonation and politeness markers.

Chinese: Uses the verb directly. Particles (吧bā, 啊ā, 嘛má) soften or strengthen the tone. 别bié negates. No person or tense marking.

Key concepts compared: Positive command (Come!), Negative command (Don't come!), Formal request.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Spanish imperatives have different forms for positive and negative commands?

In Spanish, positive imperatives use special conjugated forms (*Ven aquí* = Come here), while negative imperatives use the subjunctive (*No vengas* = Don't come). This split is unique: no other Romance language makes this distinction so starkly. English uses the same base form for both: 'Come here' / 'Don't come here.' Chinese adds <ruby>别<rt>bié</rt></ruby> before the verb: <ruby>别<rt>bié</rt></ruby><ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby> (Don't come). Spanish learners of English are relieved by the simplicity; English learners of Spanish must memorize two separate forms for every verb.

How does Chinese soften imperatives without changing the verb form?

Chinese uses sentence-final particles to modulate tone: <ruby>吧<rt>bā</rt></ruby> softens (<ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby><ruby>吧<rt>bā</rt></ruby> = Come, please / Let's come), <ruby>啊<rt>ā</rt></ruby> adds urgency (<ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby><ruby>啊<rt>ā</rt></ruby> = Come on!), <ruby>嘛<rt>má</rt></ruby> implies obviousness (<ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby><ruby>嘛<rt>má</rt></ruby> = Come on, it's obvious you should). The verb never changes. Spanish and English rely on lexical politeness markers (*por favor*, 'please') or intonation. Chinese particles are untranslatable in isolation; learners must acquire them through exposure.

What is the vosotros imperative, and why do learners often ignore it?

Spanish has two plural informal imperative forms: *vosotros* (used in Spain) and *ustedes* (used in Latin America and for formal address everywhere). *Venid* (vosotros) vs *Vengan* (ustedes). Most textbooks teach *ustedes* first because it is universally understood, but learners traveling to Spain will hear *vosotros* constantly in bars, markets, and among friends. Ignoring *vosotros* creates a social gap: you sound overly formal or foreign in casual Spanish contexts.

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

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verb-tenses

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Person-specific forms

Common irregular imperatives

Object pronouns with imperatives

Politeness strategies

English

Base form for all

Negative

Let’s for inclusive

Softening

Imperative with subject

Chinese

Bare imperatives

Softening with 吧bā

Other particles

Negative: 别bié

不bù要yào as stronger negative

请qǐng for polite requests

Let’s: 我wǒ们mén…吧bā

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References