Usted and Ustedes Commands
Learn how to form usted and ustedes commands in Spanish, including affirmative and negative forms, pronoun placement, and common irregular verbs.
Usted and Ustedes Commands in Spanish
Usted and ustedes commands are used to tell someone what to do in a formal or polite way.
Both affirmative and negative commands use the present subjunctive.
Hable más despacio.
Speak more slowly.
No hable tan rápido.
Don’t speak so quickly.
Pasen, por favor.
Come in, please.
No entren todavía.
Don’t come in yet.
How to form usted and ustedes commands
Start with the yo form of the present tense, remove -o, and add the opposite ending.
For -ar verbs:
- usted → -e
- ustedes → -en
For -er / -ir verbs:
- usted → -a
- ustedes → -an
| Infinitive | Yo form | Usted | Ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablo | hable | hablen |
| comer | como | coma | coman |
| escribir | escribo | escriba | escriban |
| hacer | hago | haga | hagan |
| poner | pongo | ponga | pongan |
| salir | salgo | salga | salgan |
These forms are the same as the usted / ustedes forms of the present subjunctive.
Affirmative and negative commands
Unlike affirmative tú commands and negative tú commands, usted and ustedes commands use the same verb form in both affirmative and negative sentences.
Hable conmigo.
Speak with me.
No hable conmigo.
Don’t speak with me.
Coman aquí.
Eat here.
No coman aquí.
Don’t eat here.
The only difference is adding no for the negative command.
Common irregular forms
Some verbs have irregular present subjunctive forms.
| Verb | Usted | Ustedes |
|---|---|---|
| dar | dé | den |
| estar | esté | estén |
| ir | vaya | vayan |
| saber | sepa | sepan |
| ser | sea | sean |
Examples:
Sea paciente.
Be patient.
No estén nerviosos.
Don’t be nervous.
Vayan a casa.
Go home.
No me den eso.
Don’t give me that.
Pronouns with affirmative commands
With affirmative commands, object and reflexive pronouns are attached to the end of the verb.
Dígame la verdad.
Tell me the truth.
Siéntese aquí.
Sit here.
Háganlo ahora.
Do it now.
Levántense.
Stand up.
An accent mark may be added to keep the original stress.
Pronouns with negative commands
With negative commands, pronouns go before the verb.
No me diga eso.
Don’t tell me that.
No se siente aquí.
Don’t sit here.
No lo hagan todavía.
Don’t do it yet.
No se levanten.
Don’t stand up.
So the same pronoun rule applies across Spanish commands:
affirmative → attach the pronoun
negative → put the pronoun before the verb
When to use usted and ustedes
Use usted when addressing one person formally or politely.
Use ustedes when addressing more than one person.
Pase, por favor.
Come in, please.
Espere un momento.
Wait a moment.
Pasen, por favor.
Come in, please.
Esperen aquí.
Wait here.
In most of Latin America, ustedes is the normal plural form for both formal and informal situations.
In Spain, vosotros is commonly used for informal plural commands, while ustedes is mainly formal.
Tú vs usted commands
Compare:
| Meaning | Tú | Usted |
|---|---|---|
| Speak. | Habla. | Hable. |
| Don’t speak. | No hables. | No hable. |
| Eat. | Come. | Coma. |
| Don’t eat. | No comas. | No coma. |
| Go. | Ve. | Vaya. |
| Don’t go. | No vayas. | No vaya. |
Quick rule
For usted and ustedes commands, use the present subjunctive:
-ar → e / en
-er, -ir → a / an
- hablar → hable / hablen
- comer → coma / coman
- escribir → escriba / escriban
Add no to make the command negative.