Spanish Vosotros Commands and How to Recognize Them

Spanish Vosotros Commands and How to Recognize Them

In this lesson, you will learn to recognize commands addressed to vosotros, the informal plural “you” used mainly in Spain. If your own Spanish normally uses ustedes, comprehension of vosotros is the priority.

Affirmative vosotros commands

For most infinitives, replace the final -r with -d.

• hablar → hablad — speak
• comer → comed — eat
• escribir → escribid — write
• abrir → abrid — open

Everyday affirmative examples

• Hablad más despacio. — Speak more slowly.
• Comed aquí. — Eat here.
• Escribid vuestros nombres. — Write your names.
• Abrid la puerta. — Open the door.

Compare vosotros with ustedes

Meaning	Vosotros	Ustedes
Speak.	Hablad. — Speak.	Hablen. — Speak.
Eat.	Comed. — Eat.	Coman. — Eat.
Write.	Escribid. — Write.	Escriban. — Write.

Negative vosotros commands

Negative vosotros commands commonly end in -éis for -AR verbs and -áis for -ER and -IR verbs.

• No habléis. — Do not speak.
• No comáis aquí. — Do not eat here.
• No escribáis en la mesa. — Do not write on the table.
• No abráis la puerta. — Do not open the door.

Compare negative vosotros and ustedes

• No habléis. — Do not speak. Vosotros.
• No hablen. — Do not speak. Ustedes.
• No comáis aquí. — Do not eat here. Vosotros.
• No coman aquí. — Do not eat here. Ustedes.

Stem-changing verbs in negative vosotros commands

• No cerréis la puerta. — Do not close the door.
• No pidáis más comida. — Do not ask for more food.
• No volváis tarde. — Do not return late.

The required stem pattern appears in the negative command form.

Reflexive affirmative vosotros commands

With a familiar reflexive affirmative command, the final -d normally disappears before os.

• sentad + os → sentaos — sit down
• levantad + os → levantaos — get up
• lavad + os → lavaos — wash yourselves

Examples:

• Sentaos aquí. — Sit down here.
• Levantaos ahora. — Get up now.
• Lavaos las manos. — Wash your hands.

Negative reflexive vosotros commands

The pronoun goes before the negative command.

• No os sentéis aquí. — Do not sit here.
• No os levantéis ahora. — Do not get up now.
• No os lavéis las manos aquí. — Do not wash your hands here.

Regional awareness

Vosotros is common in Spain for informal plural address. Ustedes is used for plural “you” throughout Latin America and also for formal plural address in Spain.

You do not need to switch your own preferred production variety. You should be able to recognize which group a command addresses.

Recognition task

Read:

Abrid los libros y escribid vuestros nombres. — Open the books and write your names.

The commands are addressed to vosotros.

Now compare:

Abran los libros y escriban sus nombres. — Open the books and write your names.

The commands are addressed to ustedes.

Household instructions

• Guardad los platos. — Put the dishes away.
• Limpiad la mesa. — Clean the table.
• No dejéis la puerta abierta. — Do not leave the door open.

A practical recognition method

1. Look for affirmative vosotros commands ending in -d.
2. Look for negative endings such as -éis or -áis.
3. Compare them with ustedes forms ending in -en or -an.
4. Recognize os in reflexive vosotros commands.
5. Remember that affirmative reflexive forms such as sentaos normally drop the -d before os.
6. Prioritize comprehension if your own Spanish uses ustedes rather than vosotros.

From Vosotros Recognition to Explaining a Task

You can now recognize commands addressed to vosotros and distinguish them from ustedes commands. The next lesson is a speaking task in which you will explain a familiar recipe or household task using one consistent form of address.