Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish (143 page)

Read Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish Online

Authors: Margarita Madrigal

Tags: #Reference, #Language Arts & Disciplines

The endings for the command form of the verb are:

E for AR verbs

A for ER and IR verbs

EXAMPLES:

hablar,
  
to speak
hable,
  
speak
hable despacio, por favor,
  
speak slowly, please
contestar,
  
to answer
conteste,
  
answer
conteste el teléfono, por favor,
  
answer the phone, please
abrir,
  
to open
abra,
  
open
abra la ventana, por favor,
  
open the window, please

Pronouns are added on to the verbs in the command form.

EXAMPLES:

levantarse,
  
to get up
levántese,
  
get up
levántese temprano,
  
get up early
escribir,
  
to write
escríbame,
  
write to me
escríbame pronto,
  
write to me soon

Radical changing verbs have the same changes in the command form as they have in the present tense.

E = IE
O = UE

EXAMPLES:

INFINITIVE
PRESENT
COMMAND
COMMON EXPRESSION
cerrar (
to close
)
cierro (
I close
)
cierre (
close
)
cierre la ventana (
close the window
)
sentarse (
to sit down
)
me siento (
I sit down
)
siéntese (
sit down
)
siéntese, por favor (
sit down, please
)
contar (
to count
)
cuento (
I count
)
cuente (
count
)
cuente conmigo (
count on me
[
with me
])
soltar (
to let go
)
suelto (
I let go
)
suelte (
let go
)
suélteme (
let go of me
)

Most of the nonconformist verbs have the same
irregularities in the command form as they have in the first person singular of the present tense.

INFINITIVE
PRESENT
COMMAND
COMMON EXPRESSION
venir,
vengo,
venga,
venga acá,
to come
I come
come
come here
tener,
tengo,
tenga,
tenga esto,
to have
I have
have
have this, take this
poner,
pongo,
ponga,
póngalo en la mesa,
to put
I put
put
put it on the table
hacer,
hago,
haga,
haga esto,
to do
I do
do
do this
salir,
salgo,
salga,
salga de la casa,
to go out
I go out
go out
go out
(
get out
)
of the house
oír,
oigo,
oiga,
oiga,
to hear, to listen
I hear, listen
hear, listen
listen
traer,
traigo,
traiga,
tráigamelo,
to bring
I bring
bring
bring me it, it to me
andar,
ando,
ande,
ande,
to walk, to go
I walk, I go
walk, go
oh, go on
decir,
digo,
diga,
no me diga,
to say, to tell
I say, tell
say, tell
don’t tell me
caerse,
me caigo,
cáigase,
no se caiga,
to fall down
I fall down
fall down
don’t fall down

Pronouns are attached to the command form except when the command is negative.

AFFIRMATIVE
NEGATIVE
dígame,
tell me
no me diga,
don’t tell me
siéntese,
sit down
no se siente,
don’t sit down
suéltelo,
let go of it
no lo suelte,
don’t let go of it
póngalo,
put it
no lo ponga,
don’t put it
tráigamelo,
bring it to me
(
me it
)
no me lo traiga,
don’t bring it to me
levántese,
get up
no se levante,
don’t get up
báñese,
bathe, take a bath
no se bañe,
don’t take a bath
acuéstese,
go to bed
no se acueste,
don’t go to bed

You have learned that there are three kinds of verbs in Spanish:

        1. Regular Verbs

        2. Radical Changing Verbs

        3. Nonconformist Verbs

The first person singular present of all these verbs is identical to the command, except for the final letter. Always try to associate the command with the first person present.

EXAMPLES:

REGULAR VERBS

INFINITIVE
PRESENT
COMMAND
tomar,
to take
tomo,
I take
tome
vender,
to sell
vendo,
I sell
venda
escribir,
to write
escribo,
I write
escriba

RADICAL CHANGING VERBS

INFINITIVE
PRESENT
COMMAND
cerrar,
to close
cierro,
I close
cierre
contar,
to count
cuento,
I count
cuente
recordar,
to remember
recuerdo,
I remember
recuerde

NONCONFORMIST VERBS

INFINITIVE
PRESENT
COMMAND
venir,
to come
vengo,
I come
venga
hacer,
to do
hago,
I do
haga
traer,
to bring
traigo,
I bring
traiga

If you associate the command with the present tense, you can’t go wrong.

There are only a very few exceptions to this rule and they are:

“Dar” (
to give
) and “estar” (
to be
) are regular in the command, although they are nonconformist verbs. However, they did not deign to be completely regular, since they belong to the select nonconformist club, so they both have accents.

dar,
to give
dé,
give
démelo,
give it to me
estar,
to be
esté,
be
esté contento,
be happy

“Ir” (
to go
) and “ser” (
to be
) are completely
irregular:

ir,
to go
voy,
I go
vaya,
go
vaya a la tienda,
go to the store
ser,
to be
soy,
I am
sea,
be
no sea indiscreto,
don’t be indiscreet

    This whole lesson can be reduced to three points.

1. The command is like the first person singular present, except for the final letter.

2. The commands that are not like the first person singular present are:

estar
dar
ir
ser
(
esté
)
(
dé
)
(
vaya
)
(
sea
)

3. In the command, pronouns are attached to the verbs except when the command is negative.

WRITTEN EXERCISE

AR verbs

  1. Cover up the right-hand column.
  2. Remove “ar” from the infinitive in the left-hand column.
  3. Add the letter “e” (as in the second column below).
  4. Check your columns with those below.
  5. Read the second column aloud, firmly stressing the heavy-type letters.
INFINITIVE
COMMAND
tomar,
to take
t
o
me
hablar,
to speak
h
a
ble
trabajar,
to work
trab
a
je
entrar,
to come in
e
ntre
pasar,
to pass
p
a
se
bailar,
to dance
b
a
ile
terminar,
to finish
term
i
ne
estacionar,
to park
estaci
o
ne
comprar,
to buy
c
o
mpre
anunciar,
to advertise
an
u
ncie
dibujar,
to draw
dib
u
je
cambiar,
to change
c
a
mbie
cantar,
to sing
c
a
nte
arreglar,
to arrange
arr
e
gle
caminar,
to walk
cam
i
ne
enseñar,
to show, to teach
ens
e
ñe

ER and IR verbs

  1. Cover up the right-hand column.
  2. Remove “er” or “ir” from the infinitive in the left-hand column.
  3. Add the letter “a” (as in the second column below).
  4. Check your columns with those below.
  5. Read the second column aloud, firmly accenting the heavy-type letters.
INFINITIVE
COMMAND
vender,
to sell
v
e
nda
correr,
to run
c
o
rra
comprender,
to understand
compr
e
nda
aprender,
to learn
apr
e
nda
leer,
to read
l
e
a
comer,
to eat
c
o
ma
beber,
to drink
b
e
ba
decidir,
to decide
dec
i
da
escribir,
to write
escr
i
ba
permitir,
to allow
perm
i
ta
resistir,
to resist
res
i
sta
vivir,
to live
v
i
va
describir,
to describe
descr
i
ba

NONCONFORMIST VERBS

  1. Cover up the two right-hand columns.
  2. Write the first person singular present of each verb (as in the second column below). They all end in “go.”
  3. Write the command of each verb (as in the third column below). They all end in “ga.”
INFINITIVE
PRESENT
COMMAND
venir,
to come
vengo,
I come
v
e
nga
tener,
to have
tengo,
I have
t
e
nga
hacer,
to do
hago,
I do
h
a
ga
traer,
to bring
traigo,
I bring
tr
a
iga
salir,
to go out
salgo,
I go out
s
a
lga
caer,
to fall
caigo,
I fall
c
a
iga
oír,
to hear
oigo,
I hear
o
iga
poner,
to put
pongo,
I put
p
o
nga
decir,
to say
digo,
I say
d
i
ga

Other books

Fall for a SEAL by Zoe York
Irregular Verbs by Matthew Johnson
Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley
Driftmetal by J.C. Staudt
Lost and Found by Glatt, John
Fatal Reaction by Belinda Frisch
Breaking the Ice by Mandy Baggot
The Memory Painter: A Novel by Gwendolyn Womack