Spanish Nosotros Commands: Suggesting Actions Together

In this lesson, you will use nosotros commands to suggest an action that includes the speaker and the listener. These forms come from the present subjunctive. Pronoun placement changes between affirmative and negative commands.

Basic nosotros commands

— Let's talk.
— Let's eat.
— Let's live here.
— Let's look for another option.
— Let's start now.

The command proposes a shared action.

Suggestion versus description

Description:

— We eat together on Fridays.

Suggestion:

— Let's eat together today.

The first describes what we do. The second proposes what we should do together.

Negative nosotros commands

Put no before the command.

— Let's not talk about that now.
— Let's not leave late.
— Let's not change the date yet.

Affirmative commands attach object pronouns

— Let's do it now.
— Let's buy the tickets.
— Let's buy them today.

A written accent may be needed to preserve the correct stress after the pronoun is attached.

Negative commands put object pronouns before the verb

— Let's not do it now.
— Let's not buy them yet.

Reflexive commands and the loss of -s before nos

With an affirmative nosotros command followed by nos, the final -s of the command is dropped.

+ nos becomes:

— Let's sit here.

+ nos becomes:

— Let's get up early.

Negative reflexive commands

In negative commands, the pronoun comes before the verb and the -s remains.

— Let's not sit here.
— Let's not get up so early.

Common forms with ir

For a general suggestion to go somewhere, vamos is extremely common:

— Let's go downtown.

For irse, a common affirmative form is:

— Let's leave / let's go.

Negative:

— Let's not go yet.

Negative irse:

— Let's not leave yet.

Shared problem-solving examples

— Let's compare the two options.
— Let's talk with the owner.
— Let's divide the expenses equally.
— Let's write the rules so everyone can see them.

The final sentence includes a later-purpose clause form only as a practical chunk. Do not derive its full grammar here.

Do not use a nosotros command when you are only describing a plan

— Tomorrow we are going to clean the kitchen.

Proposal:

— Let's clean the kitchen now.

A practical nosotros-command method

Use the nosotros present subjunctive form to propose a shared action.
Put no before a negative command.
Attach object or reflexive pronouns to affirmative commands.
Put pronouns before negative commands.
Drop final -s before attached nos in affirmative reflexive commands.
Use vamos and vámonos as common forms connected with ir and irse.
Distinguish a shared suggestion from a simple description of what we do.

From Shared Suggestions to Courteous Requests

You can now propose an action that speaker and listener do together. The next lesson compares several ways to make requests clear and courteous according to the situation and relationship.