Crisis in the Imperative
In a recent post, "Dos Simbolos Maya en Los Cosechas de Inglaterra", I wanted to use the Spanish translation of the imperative, "Copy it". I was tempted to use the infinitive with direct object attached, probably because it sounded so good. Further, a translation service gave me "Copiarlo" as the preferred translation. I went with the third person singular of the present subjunctive, which is also the formal imperative, with the direct object preceding the verb. Is there such a thing as an infinitive-based imperative command?
In another post, "Flourishes in Spanish Prose", I noted the use of the word "figurese" as an imperative command in a short story, "El Gargajero" by Jorge Onetti. "Figurese" was determined by me to be the third person singular of the present subjunctive form of the reflexive verb, "figurarse". "Figurarse" is the infinitive translation of the English infinitive phrase, "to imagine". If "se", as the reflexive may be attached to the third person singular form of the present subjunctive, may "se" as an indirect object be attached to the third person singular of the present subjunctive, where it is used as the formal imperative? Would it follow that other indirect objects or direct objects could be attached to this form. For instance, "copielo" for "copy it", as the formal imperative.
3 Answers
¡ Haz una copia! a suggestion to get you out of trouble..
In regards to the infinitive based imperative command, yes there is such a thing, I actually asked this same question to my Spanish teacher and then I remembered that signs such as 'no fumar' instructing 'Don't smoke' are frequently posted in public places in Spain rather than 'no fume' or 'no fumad' which one might expect to see after learning the rules for imperatives. My Spanish teacher said grammatically that the imperative conjugation should be used but that the infinitive can also be used if all else fails and it will still be understood and mean the same thing 
In spanish, the imperative can be expressed:
-present indicative,third person,singular,only affirmative form for tü = you:
-¡Dime! = Tell me! ¡Vete! = Go!
-the infinitive,without the ending -r + the ending -d for vosotros,vosotras = You,only affirmative form:
Comer----¡Comed! = To eat---Eat!
-the present subjuctive,for yo,nosotros,nosotras,el,ella,ellos,ellas,usted,ustedes = I,we,he,she,they,you,you:
¡Coma su comida! = Let him eat his meal! / Let her eat her meal! / Let them eat their meal! / Eat your meal! (usted) / Eat your meal! (ustedes)
¡Comamos! = Le's eat!
-the present subjunctive,negative form for tú,vosotros,vosotras = You:
¡No comes! = Don't eat (tú) ¡No comeis! = Don't eat! (vosotros,vosotras)
-the infinitive for tú,vosotros,vosotras = You:
¡A dormir! = Go to bed!
The imperative also can be expressed:
-present indicative:
¡El se va! = He goes!
-the future indicative:
¡Te irás a compra lo que te he dicho = You will go to buy what I've told you
It's your choice.It derends on your interlocutor.
En castellano,el imperativo se puede expresar:
-indicativo presente,tercera persona,singular,solo forma afirmativa para tú = You:
-¡Dime! = Tell me! ¡Vete! = Go!
-el infinitivo,sin la desinencia -r, + la terminación -d para vosotros,vosotras = You,solo forma afirmativa:
Comer----¡Comed! = To eat---Eat!
-el subjunctivo presente para yo,nosotros,nosotras,el,ella,ellos,ellas,usted,ustedes = I,we,he,she,they,you,you:
¡Coma su comida! = Let him eat his meal! / Let her eat her meal! / Let them eat their meal! / Eat your meal! (usted) / Eat your meal! (ustedes)
¡Comamos! = Le's eat!
-el subjunctivo presente,forma negativa para tú,vosotros,vosotras = You:
¡No comes! = Don't eat (tú) ¡No comeis! = Don't eat! (vosotros,vosotras)
-el infinitivo para tú,vosotros,vosotras = You:
¡A dormir! = Go to bed
El imperativo tambien puede se puede expresar:
-indicativo presente:
¡El se va! = He goes!
-indicativo futuro:
¡Te irás a compra lo que te he dicho = You will go to buy what I've told you
Es tu eleccion.Depende de tu interlocutor.
