FORMAL USTED USTEDES COMMANDS
PROFESSOR ¡Bienvenidos!
PROFESSOR You’ve already learned about tú commands, a way to give orders or advice to people you
address as tú.
PROFESSOR Today, we’re going to talk about FORMAL command forms, the ones you use with people
you address as usted or ustedes.
PROFESSOR Here are a few examples to get things rolling.
NARRATOR Hable con ellos, don Francisco. Coma frutas y verduras.
NARRATOR Laven los platos ahora mismo. Beban menos té y café.
PROFESSOR The usted and ustedes commands, like the NEGATIVE tú commands, start with the yo form
of the present tense as the base.
PROFESSOR Drop the O. Then add E or E-N for A-R verbs, and A or A-N for E-R and I-R verbs. Let’s
look at the verbs limpiar, barrer, and sacudir.
NARRATOR Limpie, limpien. Barra, barran. Sacuda, sacudan.
PROFESSOR Verbs with irregular yo forms in the present tense have the same irregularity in their formal
commands. Observe...
NARRATOR Oiga, don Manolo...¡Salga inmediatamente!
NARRATOR Ponga la mesa, por favor. Hagan la cama antes de salir.
PROFESSOR Stem-changing verbs maintain their stem changes in usted and ustedes commands.
PROFESSOR Look at these examples with E to I-E stem-changing verbs.
NARRATOR No pierda la llave. Cierren la puerta.
PROFESSOR And these examples with O to U-E stem-changing verbs.
NARRATOR Vuelva temprano, joven. Duerman bien, chicos.
PROFESSOR And, finally, these examples with E to I stem-changing verbs.
NARRATOR Sirva la sopa, por favor. Repitan las frases.
PROFESSOR Verbs ending in C-A-R, G-A-R, or Z-A-R have a spelling change in the formal command to
maintain the C, G, and Z sounds of the infinitive.
PROFESSOR So...Verbs like sacar have a C to Q-U spelling change. Like this...
NARRATOR Saque, saquen.
PROFESSOR Verbs like jugar have a G to G-U spelling change.
NARRATOR Juegue, jueguen.
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PROFESSOR And verbs like almorzar have a Z to C spelling change. Observe...
NARRATOR Almuerce, almuercen.
PROFESSOR Now...here are some verbs with irregular formal commands.
NARRATOR Dé, den. Esté, estén. Vaya, vayan. Sepa, sepan. Sea, sean.
PROFESSOR If you want to make a formal command negative, just add the word no before the verb.
Watch...
NARRATOR No ponga las maletas en la cama.
NARRATOR No ensucien los sillones.
PROFESSOR In affirmative commands, reflexive, direct, and indirect object pronouns are always attached
to the end of the verb. Observe...
NARRATOR Siéntense, por favor. Sígame.
NARRATOR Acuéstense ahora. Pónganlas en el suelo, por favor.
PROFESSOR ¡Atención! Remember that when you attach a pronoun to an affirmative command that has
two or more syllables, you have to add an accent mark to maintain the original stress. Like this...
NARRATOR Limpie, límpielo. Diga, dígamelo.
NARRATOR Lean, léanlo. Sacudan, sacúdanlos.
PROFESSOR In negative commands, these pronouns always go before the verb. Again, observe...
NARRATOR No se preocupe. No me lo dé.
NARRATOR No los ensucien. No nos las traigan.
PROFESSOR If you want to have an even more formal tone, you can add usted or ustedes after the
command form. Like this...
NARRATOR Muéstrele usted la foto a su amigo. Tomen ustedes esta mesa.
PROFESSOR Bueno, escuchen ustedes este repaso...So let’s recap.
PROFESSOR You learned how to form usted and ustedes commands by dropping the O from the yo form of
the present tense and adding E or E-N for A-R verbs and A or A-N for E-R and I-R verbs.
PROFESSOR You also learned about the formal command forms of stem-changing verbs, verbs with
spelling changes, and irregular verbs.
PROFESSOR Finally, you learned that you attach pronouns to the END of affirmative commands and place
them BEFORE negative commands.
PROFESSOR Señor Cervantes, cuéntenos una de sus fascinantes historias, por favor.
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