Why use the imperative form?
"The imperative form of verbs, used for giving commands, is one of the more unusual verb forms in Spanish. As a distinctive conjugation, it exists only with tú and vosotros, that is, in the familiar second person. Different conjugations are sometimes used in the affirmative (do something) and negative (don't). And because direct commands sometimes can sound rude or impolite, the imperative form is avoided sometimes in favor of other verb constructions. "
This is a paragraph from a lesson on the imperative and it is stated that in Spanish this form is avoided in favor of other contructions. I am learning this form but some of my commands I have asked for help on have been changed to a different form so why should I take the time to learn this form? In English it is so simple, "follow me"; "don't touch"; "hurry up already". We never consider it impolite or rude to say these things, especially to our children.
12 Answers
"The imperative form of verbs, used for giving commands, is one of the more unusual verb forms in Spanish. As a distinctive conjugation, it exists only with tú and vosotros, that is, in the familiar second person. Different conjugations are sometimes used in the affirmative (do something) and negative (don't). And because direct commands sometimes can sound rude or impolite, the imperative form is avoided sometimes in favor of other verb constructions. "
This is the most senseless thing I've ever heard.
The imperative form of verbs, used for giving commands, is one of the more unusual verb forms in Spanish.
This is not true, nor logical. If it's unusual how do Spanish people say "Come here!"?
As a distinctive conjugation, it exists only with tú and vosotros, that is, in the familiar second person.
Tú:Ama
Usted- él - ella:Ame
Nosotros:Amemos
Vosotros:Amad
Ellos - ustedes:Amen
(Only absent form is yo which is logical, you don't give orders to yourself.)
Different conjugations are sometimes used in the affirmative (do something) and negative (don't).
Sometimes? Seriously? I have never seen the same conjugation for a positive and negative order.
¡No lo comas!
¡Come! ¡Venga!
And because direct commands sometimes can sound rude or impolite, the imperative form is avoided sometimes in favor of other verb constructions.
Hmmm... Maybe this one is a little bit more understandable though not acceptable. Maybe que + subjuntivo can be used. But you can get rid of the impoliteness with a por favor if it seems impolite to you. But I wouldn't consider ¡Ven aquí! as impolite which is told by a friend who says that he misses me.. On the other hand, in English too, if someone says "Go away! it's not polite either, so would you say that the usage of this form can be understood as impoliteness? I don't think so. It's about the context and the feeling that somebody gives you an order...
Don't take that book as a good source, really...
And because direct commands sometimes can sound rude or impolite,...
Rude or impolite? You have the wrong information. Imperatives are used all the time, even to apologize. Would you say that "Look! A bird!" is a rude or impolite sentence? Well, that's imperative for you.
Perdona - I am sorry
Mira - Look
Pasa - Come in
Toma - Here you are.
"Toma el libro, abre la puerta y sale de la habitación. " This was a question back in 2009 and there were 3 answers. Heidta said this is not a command sentence and the the other 2 persons answering were wrong. In English it would be a command so this is what confuses me the most.
Here is the thread she's referring to.
It depends on context, since most of the time the 2nd person imperative is the same as the 3rd person indicative. But you know why you were told that it was not a command sentence? It's because of sale. If it were in imperative form, sale would have been sal.
Imperative is no more rude or impolite than any other conjugation. What would create rudeness would be the tone of voice and context. I would not cancel your learning of this conjugation form.
"Toma el libro, abre la puerta y sale de la habitación. " This was a question back in 2009 and there were 3 answers. Heidta said this is not a command sentence and the the other 2 persons answering were wrong. In English it would be a command so this is what confuses me the most.
Languages are never used without of context. You don't wake up one day and get to see a friend who suddenly says "Toma el libro". Surely, it could mean "Take the book" or "He/she takes the book", but... who would be that "he/she" anyway? If he offers you a book while saying it, you would have no problems whatsoever figuring out that he means "Take the book", and not "He takes the book". On the other hand, if he is not offering you any book and there are no books around for you to see, none of the options will make sense. If your friend said to you, in English, something like "The lizard better", it wouldn't make any sense either. That is a sentence you could say in an animal shop if you were trying to decide between buying a lizard or a rabbit; but outside of that context, it means nothing.
Now, when I read "Toma el libro, abre la puerta...", I was just checking that sentence is grammatically correct, waiting for some clues to allow me to figure out what is the whole point of the sentence, where does it belong to. You do the same when you read English. As soon as I reached that "... y sale de la habitación", I assumed that the whole sentence meant "He takes the book, opens the door and leaves the room", because the alternative ("Take the book, open the door and he leaves the room") simply makes no sense. You don't say things like "Go to the shop, buy me some potatoes, and he is my friend".
Bottom line: learn always in context, not with isolated and meaningless sentences, because your brain needs to figure out the grammar by making sense out of it, not by following rules from a book. Use movies, books, stories, conversations... anything that allows you to guess what things mean, even if you don't know a word or a structure. Make sense of what you learn!
I suggest you look at other sources for your learning, Fox. The one you're currently using appears to be seriously flawed. Speaking without the imperatives would be extremely difficult, not to mention most unnatural.
Thanks everyone, I will try harder to learn the lesson on the command form but it is still the most confusing form to learn {forming is easy, using is hard}. Example:
"Toma el libro, abre la puerta y sale de la habitación. " This was a question back in 2009 and there were 3 answers. Heidta said this is not a command sentence and the the other 2 persons answering were wrong. In English it would be a command so this is what confuses me the most.
When I saw the answer from Lazarus1907 and the examples he showed, I felt I had learned something new since no matter where I search on the net, you cannot find any good examples of how to use the millions of verbs in a command. Grade school commands yes, but not like what Lazarus1907 showed.
I feeling your pain, foxluv. In learning a language, there is so much to understand and remember, it can be frustrating to get different information and opinions from different sources. I guess that's what makes language an art instead of a science.
You can use the imperative form with Usted, to be formal.
No lo toque Ud., por favor. >> Don't touch it please.
Hable Ud. más despacio, por favor. >> Speak slowly please.
I've used these several times, and no native speaker has told me that they are impolite.
OK, if I am going to learn this form, there are things I hear on the radio which I would consider commands but if I wrote them out, I am not sure. Por ejemplo:
Cuéntame. = tell me Would you need an exclamation {!} in order to distinguish it as a command? Is it a command?
Digame. = tell me Is this also a command?
Take the book, open the door, and leave the room. All are most definitely commands (imperative) in English.
HI fox, I said this then and I am saying it now:
In English it would be a command so this is what confuses me the most.
It is neither a command in English nor in Spanish.
You are completely forgetting that we do not use the subject pronoun in Spanish and while we could imagine the first two verbs to be a command the third cannot be one.
I think in any case I said this before, on that very thread, can you link us to it?
