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Five-minute Spanish Lessons - Lesson 6.Spanish imperatives versus subjunctives (1).Below, I've listed some of the most common imperatives heard in daily usage in Spanish (words in instruction form) eg.: "toma". Learners of Spanish should note how a speaker changes to the subjunctive form to place more stress on the importance of the action eg: "que lo tomes". Also notice the translation of the infinitive form "I told you to take it" etc. Toma. Here you are. Giving something to somebody. And getting angry: He dicho que lo tomes. I told you to take it. Inviting somebody angrily to get in your car: Sube. Get in. Insisting: He dicho que subas. I told you to get in. Mother to child: Ven aquí. Que te voy a poner el abrigo. Come here. I'm going to put your coat on. Insisting: He dicho que vengas. I told you to come here. From the outside intercom asking to be let in: Ábreme. Open the door. And when nobody answers: ¡He dicho que me abras ya! I said open the door now! Asking somebody to hold something: Sujeta esto. Hold this. Insisting: He dicho que lo sujetes. I told you to hold it. When somebody is in your way: Quita. Get out of the way. Getting rude: He dicho que te quites. I told you to get out of the way. This, in "usted" form if the waiter is unknown to the customer: Póngame una cerveza, por favor. (Spain) Could I have a beer, please? This, in "usted" form if cashier unknown to customer: Déme cincuenta euros, por favor. Could you give me fifty euros, please? Note that some Spanish speakers prefer to avoid the imperative in formal situations as English speakers do and opt for a more refined: "me puede" + infinitive: ¿Me puede poner una cerveza, por favor? Could I have a beer, please? However, when helping somebody out, giving information etc. the imperative form sounds helpful and polite. But also note that Spanish is peculiar in that a true imperative does not exist in the "usted" form, therefore, instructions are in the subjunctive ie. "que venga usted" (that you come = subjunctive) is the same form as "¡venga usted!" (come! = imperative). Venga conmigo, señora. Please come with me, madam. Waiter to a client: Suba esta calle y luego tome la calle a su izquierda. Camine hasta al final de esa calle y la catedral se encuentra a la derecha. Go up this street and then take the street on your left. Walk to the end of that street and you'll find the cathedral on the right. In Spain, there is an unusual use of "venga" as an imperative in the "tú" form instead of "ven". This is usually when the speaker is trying to console, encourage or cheer somebody up: Venga, cariño, no te pongas así Come on, darling, don't get like that. Said softly with tenderness. Venga, vamos a casa. Aquí no hay nada más que hacer. Come on, let's go home. There's nothing more we can do here. Rousing another to action. Finally, notice the difference between "Diga" or "Dígame" and "Dime" in this very common telephone dialogue. "Dime" sounds almost rude to the English ear as an opening to answer the phone - but it is common in Spain: Diga. Juan, soy yo, Paco. Dime, Paco. Steve, it's Dave here. What can I do for you, Steve?
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