Formal Imperative in Spanish / Imperativo Formal

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FORMAL IMPERATIVE / IMPERATIVO FORMAL

Imperative

In Spanish a special type of mood is used when ordering, or telling someone to do something emphatically. This special type of mood is called imperative form or commands and basically it is used to strongly influence the listener’s behavior or action. Observe the examples below.

Examples:

Coma Ud. la comida. (Eat the food)
Tengan Uds paciencia con él. (Be patient with him)
Saque Ud. la foto (Take the picture.)

It is very easy and simple to form sentences in the imperative form for the persons Ud and Uds. For verbs ending in ar you just need to drop the o from the first person singular in the simple present and add e (for Ud) or en (for Uds). For verbs ending in er and ir you have to drop the o and add a (for Ud) and an (for Uds). Study the chart below:

Verbs ending in ar:

First Person – Simple Present	Formal You	Command – for persons Ud and Uds
Manejo el coche (I drive the car)	Ud	Maneje el coche (You – Drive the car)
Compro el coche (I buy the car)	Uds	Compren el coche (You all – Buy the car)

Verbs ending in er:

First Person – Simple Present	Formal You	Command – for persons Ud and Uds
Escojo el libro (I choose the book)	Ud	Escoja el libro (You – Choose the book)
Como el postre (I eat the desert)	Uds	Coman el postre (You all – Eat the desert)

Verbs ending in ir:

First Person – Simple Present	Formal You	Command – for persons Ud and Uds
Abro la botella (I open the bottle)	Ud	Abre la botella (You – Open the bottle)
Escribo la carta (I write the letter)	Uds	Escriben la carta (You all – Write the letter)

Note:

Ud - Usted

Uds - Ustedes