Formal (polite) commands for "usted" and "ustedes"

Formal commands (usted/ustedes)

Formal commands are the polite imperative forms you use to tell one person (usted) or a group (ustedes) to do something. In Spanish the formal imperative is made with the present subjunctive forms. You use these forms when you want to be respectful, when you speak to strangers, elders, supervisors, customers, or when you address more than one person formally.

When do I use formal commands?

Use usted for one person you address formally
- “Tome asiento, por favor.” (Tome = Have a seat, sir/ma'am.)
- “Por favor, espere aquí.” (Please wait here.)

Use ustedes to address a group
- “Cierren la puerta.” (Close the door. — to two or more people.)
- “Por favor, firmen aquí.” (Please sign here. — to a group.)

Regional note
- In Latin America, ustedes is the standard plural “you” for both formal and informal situations. In Spain, vosotros is used for informal plural and ustedes for formal plural.

How do I form formal commands?

The basic rule (short version)
- Use the present subjunctive. Usted uses the 3rd-person singular subjunctive; ustedes uses the 3rd-person plural subjunctive.

Step-by-step (use the yo form of the present tense)
1) Start with the yo form of the present indicative: yo hablo, yo como, yo vivo.
2) Drop the -o: habl-, com-, viv-.
3) Add the opposite vowel endings (subjunctive):
- For -ar verbs: add -e (usted) / -en (ustedes) → hablar → hable / hablen.
- For -er / -ir verbs: add -a (usted) / -an (ustedes) → comer → coma / coman; vivir → viva / vivan.

Examples
- Hablar → (usted) Hable más despacio. (Speak more slowly.)
- Hablar → (ustedes) Hablen más despacio. (You all speak more slowly.)
- Comer → (usted) Coma ahora. (Eat now.)
- Comer → (ustedes) Coman ahora. (Eat now, everyone.)
- Vivir → (usted) Viva con cuidado. (Live carefully.)

Negative formal commands
- Form is the same (subjunctive), but add no before the verb:
- No hable tan rápido. (Don’t speak so fast.)
- No coman todavía. (Don’t eat yet.)

Why subjunctive?
- The imperative directed at another person expresses a wish, request, or influence — situations where Spanish commonly uses the subjunctive.

Irregular verbs and spelling changes

Common irregulars (present subjunctive forms used as commands)
- dar → (usted) dé ; (ustedes) den. Example: “Déme su nombre.” (Give me your name.)
- estar → esté ; estén. Example: “Esté tranquilo.” / “Estén tranquilos.” (Be calm.)
- ir → vaya ; vayan. Example: “Vaya ahora.” / “Vayan con cuidado.” (Go now. / Go carefully.)
- saber → sepa ; sepan. Example: “Sepa que esto es importante.” (Know that this is important.)
- ser → sea ; sean. Example: “Sea puntual, por favor.” / “Sean puntuales.” (Be punctual.)

Verbs with irregular yo forms (affect subjunctive stem)
- conocer → conozca / conozcan. (“Conozca la política.”)
- hacer → haga / hagan. (“Haga la tarea.”)
- poner → ponga / pongan. (“Ponga la mesa.”)
- salir → salga / salgan. (“Salga ahora.”)
- traer → traiga / traigan. (“Traiga los documentos.”)
- decir → diga / digan. (“Diga la verdad.”)
- tener → tenga / tengan. (“Tenga paciencia.”)
- venir → venga / vengan. (“Venga mañana.”)

Spelling (orthographic) changes to preserve pronunciation
- Verbs ending in -car, -gar, -zar change spelling in the subjunctive (and therefore in formal commands):
- buscar → (usted) busque ; (ustedes) busquen. “Busque su pasaporte.” (Look for your passport.)
- pagar → pague / paguen. “Pague con tarjeta.” (Pay by card.)
- empezar → empiece / empiecen. “Empiece cuando esté listo.” (Begin when you’re ready.)

Stem-changing verbs
- -ar and -er stem changes (e→ie, o→ue) appear in the subjunctive for usted/ustedes:
- pensar → piense / piensen. “Piense antes de responder.” (Think before answering.)
- volver → vuelva / vuelvan. “Vuelva temprano.” (Return early.)
- -ir verbs often show e→i or o→u in the subjunctive for usted/ustedes:
- pedir → pida / pidan. “Pida permiso.” (Ask for permission.)
- dormir → duerma / duerman. “Duerma bien.” (Sleep well.)

Pronoun placement and accents

Where to put object/reflexive pronouns
- Affirmative commands: attach pronoun(s) to the end of the verb.
- “Lea el documento.” → “Léalo.” (Read it.)
- “Dígame su nombre.” → “Dígame su nombre.” (Tell me your name.)
- “Siéntese.” (Sit down.)

- Negative commands: pronouns go before the verb (after no).
- “No lo lea.” (Don’t read it.)
- “No me lo diga.” (Don’t tell me it.)
- “No se levante.” (Don’t get up.)

Two pronouns: order and the le → se change
- When you use both an indirect object pronoun (le/les) and a direct object pronoun (lo/la/los/las), the indirect pronoun comes first: IOP + DOP. Example: “Dígale la verdad.” → with both pronouns → “Dígalo a él” or with pronouns attached: “Dígaselo.”
- If le or les is followed by lo/la/los/las, le/les changes to se:
- Dar + le + lo → dé + se + lo → “Déselo.” (Give it to him/her.)
- Negative: “No se lo dé.” (Don’t give it to him/her.)

Accents with attached pronouns
- When you attach one or two pronouns to an affirmative command, you often must add a written accent to keep the original stress of the verb. Place the accent on the vowel that originally carried the stress.
- diga → dígalo (Tell it.)
- diga + me → dígame (Tell me.)
- dé + me + lo → démelo (Give it to me.)
- póngase → póngase (Stand up / put yourself) — accent stays where needed (póngase).

Examples (affirmative vs negative, singular/plural):
- “Dígame la hora.” (Tell me the time.) — affirmative usted
- “No me lo diga.” (Don’t tell me it.) — negative usted
- “Díganlo ahora.” (Say it now.) — affirmative ustedes
- “No lo digan ahora.” (Don’t say it now.) — negative ustedes
- “Póngase el abrigo.” (Put on your coat.) / “No se lo ponga.” (Don’t put it on.)

Formal vs informal: usted, tú, ustedes, vosotros

Compare the forms
- Informal (tú) affirmative: use the 3rd person singular indicative (often irregular):
- hablar → (tú) habla → (usted) hable
- comer → (tú) come → (usted) coma
- vivir → (tú) vive → (usted) viva
- Informal (tú) negative: use subjunctive (like usted but different person):
- no hables vs no hable

Example pairs
- Tell me! (informal) → ¡Dime! vs. Tell me! (formal) → Dígame.
- Close the door. (informal plural Spain) → ¡Cerrad la puerta! vs. (formal plural or Latin America) → Cierren la puerta.

Common mistakes to avoid

- Using the infinitive instead of the command: Wrong: “Usted cerrar la puerta.” Correct: “Cierre la puerta.”
- Using the indicative present instead of the subjunctive: Wrong: “No coma.” (this is actually correct — but wrong would be “No comes” when addressing usted). Make sure to use the subjunctive forms shown above.
- Misplacing pronouns: remember affirmative = attach; negative = before the verb.
- Forgetting to change le/les to se before lo/la/los/las: Wrong: “Dígalo a él” (works) but with pronouns attached you must use “Dígaselo.” Wrong attached form: *“Digalelo.”
- Not adding an accent when needed after attaching pronouns: compare “Diga” → “Dígame.”

Quick reference — common formal commands

- hablar: (usted) Hable / (ustedes) Hablen — “Hable más despacio.”
- comer: (usted) Coma / (ustedes) Coman — “Coma ahora.”
- vivir: (usted) Viva / (ustedes) Vivan — “Viva con cuidado.”
- decir: diga / digan — “Diga la verdad.”
- hacer: haga / hagan — “Haga la tarea.”
- poner: ponga / pongan — “Ponga la mesa.”
- salir: salga / salgan — “Salga ahora.”
- venir: venga / vengan — “Venga mañana.”
- tener: tenga / tengan — “Tenga paciencia.”
- ir: vaya / vayan — “Vaya al banco.”
- dar: dé / den — “Déme su documento.”
- ser: sea / sean — “Sea puntual.”
- estar: esté / estén — “Esté tranquilo.”
- saber: sepa / sepan — “Sepa que tiene opciones.”

Glossary

- Imperative (command): the verb form used to tell someone to do (or not do) something.
- Subjunctive: a mood (not a tense) used for wishes, doubts, commands, recommendations — used here to form formal commands.
- Yo form: the first-person singular present indicative (used as the base for forming the subjunctive).
- Stem change: a vowel change in the main part of the verb (e→ie, o→ue, e→i) that appears in many subjunctive forms.
- Orthographic change: spelling change to keep pronunciation (c→qu, g→gu, z→c before certain endings).
- Direct object pronoun (DOP): lo, la, los, las (answers “what?” or “whom?”)
- Indirect object pronoun (IOP): me, te, le (se), nos, os, les (answers “to whom?” or “for whom?”)
- Reflexive pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os — the subject and object are the same person.

Final tips

- When in doubt, form the present subjunctive (yo form → drop -o → add subjunctive ending) and use that for both affirmative and negative formal commands (add no for negatives).
- Use por favor to soften commands: “Por favor, hable más despacio.”
- Practice common irregulars (dar, estar, ir, saber, ser, hacer, poner, salir, tener, venir, decir) — they appear frequently in polite requests and instructions.

This guide gives you the form, usage, and common traps for formal Spanish commands (usted/ustedes). Keep the rules for formation and pronoun placement handy, and review the irregular verbs until they feel natural.