Gramática: Los Mandatos Formales

Formal commands are used a great deal in Spanish. There is a presentation below which describes how commands are structured. Pay close attention to the irregular commands as there are several; you will see them again on your quizzes and tests. Take notes as you view the material as you will be responsible for the content. Be sure your speakers are turned up.

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Usted and Ustedes Commands

Usted and ustedes commands are used in situations where you would tell someone or a group of people with whom you have a formal or respectful relationship to do something. These commands are a good place to start because they're the easiest and also because it's better to treat someone as usted when you're supposed to use tú than the other way around. Also, outside of Spain (where vosotros is used), the only way to command a group of people is to use an ustedes command.

**Affirmative Usted and Ustedes Commands**

To change a verb into an affirmative usted or ustedes command, simply use the appropriate subjunctive conjugation:

Chart showing Spanish affirmative usted or ustedes commands using the correct subjunctive conjugation

There are no irregular usted or ustedes commands. However, there are many irregular subjunctive conjugations that would be useful to remember. A few of them:

A chart of some of the Spanish irregular subjunctive conjugations

**Negative Usted and Ustedes Commands**

Usted or ustedes commands are easy to change into negative commands (where you tell someone not to do something). Simply add no:

A chart showing how to change usted or ustedes commands into negative commands

Usted Commands Videos

The videos below help you to understand more about usted commands. Take notes as you view the material as you will be responsible for the content. Be sure your speakers are turned up.

How to Form Usted Commands in Spanish

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Practice Usted Commands with a Special Guest, Part One

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Practice Usted Commands with a Special Guest, Part Two

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Usted Commands

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Ustedes Commands Videos

The videos below help you to understand more about ustedes commands. Take notes as you view the material as you will be responsible for the content. Be sure your speakers are turned up.

How to Form Ustedes Commands in Spanish

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Ustedes Commands: More Practice One

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Ustedes Commands: More Practice Two

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Ustedes Commands: More Practice Three

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Formal Commands Review Activities

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