Basic Commands (Affirmative Tú): Complete A1 Beginner’s Guide
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Affirmative tú commands are how you give friendly instructions, make requests, or offer advice in informal situations — telling a friend “Wait here!” or “Eat your vegetables!” This guide covers how to form them for regular verbs, the eight irregulars you have to memorize, how to attach pronouns, and how to use commands in everyday situations.
Key Takeaways
- Regular affirmative tú commands use the él/ella/usted form of the present tense.
- *-AR* verbs take -a (habla), *-ER* and *-IR* verbs take -e (come, abre).
- Eight verbs are irregular and must be memorized: sé, ve, ten, ven, haz, di, pon, sal.
- Pronouns attach to the end of affirmative commands: dime, hazlo, escúchame.
- An accent is often added when pronouns attach, to preserve the original stress: habla → háblame.
- For formal situations, use the usted form — not tú commands.
Regular Command Formation
The golden rule: use the él/ella/usted form of the present tense.
-AR verbs → -a ending
- hablar → habla (speak!)
- escuchar → escucha (listen!)
- trabajar → trabaja (work!)
-ER verbs → -e ending
- comer → come (eat!)
- beber → bebe (drink!)
- aprender → aprende (learn!)
-IR verbs → -e ending
- vivir → vive (live!)
- abrir → abre (open!)
- escribir → escribe (write!)
Need help with verb conjugations? Use our Spanish Verb Conjugation Tool to practice any verb in all tenses.
Essential Irregular Commands
These eight verbs do not follow the regular rule. Memorize them:
| Verb | Command | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ser | sé | be! |
| ir | ve | go! |
| tener | ten | have! |
| venir | ven | come! |
| hacer | haz | do / make! |
| decir | di | say / tell! |
| poner | pon | put! |
| salir | sal | leave! |
Memory trick: “Vin Diesel has ten weapons, eh?” — the syllables map to the irregulars:
- Vin → ven (venir)
- Die → di (decir)
- sel → sal (salir)
- has → haz (hacer)
- ten → ten (tener)
- wea → ve (ir)
- pons → pon (poner)
- eh → sé (ser)
Common Command Phrases for Daily Life
Around the house:
- Limpia tu habitación. (Clean your room.)
- Abre la ventana. (Open the window.)
- Cierra la puerta. (Close the door.)
- Pon la mesa. (Set the table.)
Social situations:
- Ven a mi fiesta. (Come to my party.)
- Trae algo de beber. (Bring something to drink.)
- Llama a tus amigos. (Call your friends.)
- Escucha esta canción. (Listen to this song.)
Directions and help:
- Mira esto. (Look at this.)
- Espera aquí. (Wait here.)
- Ayuda a tu hermano. (Help your brother.)
- Explica el problema. (Explain the problem.)
Adding Pronouns to Commands
With affirmative commands, object pronouns attach to the end of the command, forming a single word:
- di + me → dime (tell me)
- haz + lo → hazlo (do it)
- escucha + me → escúchame (listen to me)
- da + me + lo → dámelo (give it to me)
Why the accent appears: when a pronoun attaches, the word gets longer but the stress stays where it was on the original command. To keep that stress on the right syllable, Spanish adds a written accent. So habla (stress on *ha-*) becomes háblame (stress still on *há-*, now marked). The same applies to prepara → prepáralo and estudia → estúdialo.
Real-Life Usage Scenarios
Cooking instructions:
- Corta las verduras. (Cut the vegetables.)
- Añade sal. (Add salt.)
- Mezcla los ingredientes. (Mix the ingredients.)
- Prueba la sopa. (Taste the soup.)
Study and work:
- Estudia para el examen. (Study for the exam.)
- Lee el libro. (Read the book.)
- Practica español. (Practice Spanish.)
- Termina tu trabajo. (Finish your work.)
Health and safety:
- Cuida tu salud. (Take care of your health.)
- Descansa un poco. (Rest a bit.)
- Ten cuidado. (Be careful.)
- Come verduras. (Eat vegetables.)
Making Commands More Polite
Commands are direct by nature. To soften them:
Add por favor:
- Escucha, por favor. (Listen, please.)
- Ayúdame, por favor. (Help me, please.)
Use a question instead:
- ¿Puedes ayudarme? (Can you help me?)
- ¿Podrías cerrar la ventana? (Could you close the window?)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using the tú present form instead of the command form. Not tú hablas → habla.
- Forgetting the irregulars. Practice the 8 essential forms: sé, ve, ten, ven, haz, di, pon, sal.
- Misplacing pronouns. With affirmative commands, pronouns attach to the end: dime, not me di.
- Using commands with strangers. Tú commands are informal. For formal situations, use the usted form.
Quick Reference Chart
| Verb Type | Command Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -AR verbs | -a | habla, escucha, trabaja |
| -ER verbs | -e | come, bebe, aprende |
| -IR verbs | -e | vive, abre, escribe |
| Irregular | Special forms | sé, ve, ten, ven, haz, di, pon, sal |
Ready to Practice?
Now that you understand affirmative tú commands, test your knowledge:
➡️ Take the Basic Commands Quiz — regular and irregular commands, pronoun placement, and real-life usage.
Need conjugation practice? Use our Spanish Verb Conjugation Tool for any verb in all tenses.
Explore more A1 Grammar Guides for complete beginner lessons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use the él/ella/usted form of the present tense. -AR verbs take -a (hablar → habla), and -ER and -IR verbs take -e (comer → come, abrir → abre). Eight common verbs are irregular and must be memorized separately.
The eight irregulars are: sé (ser), ve (ir), ten (tener), ven (venir), haz (hacer), di (decir), pon (poner), and sal (salir). These don’t follow the regular -a / -e pattern and must be memorized as a group.
A command tells someone to do something (habla — speak!), while a present-tense verb states what someone does (hablas — you speak). For affirmative tú commands, the command form looks like the él/ella/usted present-tense form: habla, not hablas. Using the tú present form is one of the most common A1 mistakes.
With affirmative commands, pronouns attach to the end of the verb as one word: dime (tell me), hazlo (do it), escúchame (listen to me), dámelo (give it to me). This is the opposite of negative commands, where pronouns go before the verb.
Adding a pronoun makes the word longer, but the stress stays where it was on the original command. To mark that stress, Spanish adds a written accent. So habla (stress on ha-) becomes háblame — stress still on há-, now marked. Same pattern: prepara → prepáralo, estudia → estúdialo.
Two common ways. First, add por favor: Escucha, por favor (Listen, please). Second, switch to a question form: ¿Puedes ayudarme? (Can you help me?) or ¿Podrías cerrar la ventana? (Could you close the window?). For formal situations with strangers, use the usted command form instead of tú.
Tú commands are informal. Don’t use them with strangers, elders, authority figures, or anyone you’d address as usted. In those situations, use the usted command form — which for most verbs uses the subjunctive form (hable, coma, abra). Using a tú command with a stranger can sound rude.
The affirmative tú command of ir is ve — but note it looks identical to the command of ver (to see), which is also ve. Context tells you which verb is meant: Ve a la tienda (Go to the store) vs. Ve la película (Watch the movie). This is one of the few places where two commands look identical.
Use the mnemonic “Vin Diesel has ten weapons, eh?” — the syllables map to the irregulars: Vin → ven, Die → di, sel → sal, has → haz, ten → ten, wea → ve, pons → pon, eh → sé. Drill it until the syllables trigger the verbs automatically.
Next come negative tú commands (no hables, no comas), which use the subjunctive form and put pronouns before the verb. After that, the formal usted and ustedes commands. Together these cover the full command system you’ll need for everyday Spanish.
