e or a when giving a command?

Question

If I were to give a command in the familiar - tu, not usted Would I say

Incline la punta hacia fuera un poco

or Inclina la punta hacia fuera un poco?

This always confuses me! Thanks

"incline (usted)" / "inclina (tú)" - samdie, ABR 23, 2010

Answer 1

If it's a true command then you should use the Imperative mood of the verb, that is "incline", terminating in "e" for verbs ending in "ar". If it's merely advice, use the normal form of the verb so if you're using "tu" say "inclinas".

If your verb, like "hacer" isn't a normal comfortable "ar" verb then mostly the imperative will end in "a" but you need to know if, like "hacer" it's irregular. I expect you know that "do it" translates to "haga lo que sea", "haga" being the Imperative of "hacer". The second most common of these is probably "tenga", the imperative of "tener". Verbs ending in "ir", like "admitir" are easy; they just use an "a" ending like "ar" verbs. "Admitale" = "let him in" for example.

PS I suspect you should be using "afuera" rather than "fuera".

The question is about the familiar command. Your examples are all formal address. - samdie, ABR 23, 2010