Spanish/Lesson 8

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Grammar - Formal Commands (el imperativo)

Commands are used when you ask someone to do something or give instructions to people. In this lesson we learn the formal commands, which are the ones you say to persons where you use the usted or ustedes form. The following table shows the endings for the regular verbs. Note that the stem changes that occur in the yo form, (e->ie, e->i, o->ue, ar/er/ir->go cer->zco etc., ) apply for formal commands:

	hablar	comer	pedir
Usted	hable	coma	pida
Ustedes	hablen	coman	pidan

The following verbs have irregular formal commands:

	dar	estar	ir	saber	ser
Usted	dé	esté	vaya	sepa	sea
Ustedes	den	estén	vayan	sepan	sean

Like in English, the command is usually put in the beginning of the sentence:

Examples:

Piense antes de hablar.	Think before you speak.
Terminen sus tareas escolares.	Finish your homework.
Dejen la casa inmediatamente.	Leave the house immediately.

Grammar - Informal Tú-Commands

In this lesson we learn the commands you say to someone you would address in the tú form. Spanish distinguishes two different types of tú-commands, the affirmative (do something) and the negative (don't do something). Like the formal commands, we also apply stem changes here:

	hablar	comer	pedir
Affirmative	habla	come	pide
Negative	no hables	no comas	no pidas

The following verbs have irregular informal tú-commands for the affirmative and negative.

	decir	hacer	ir	poner
Affirmative	di	haz	ve/andá (Chile, Argentina)	pon To remember these, arrange them in this order: Ven Di Sal Haz Ten Ve Pon Se Which can also be read as "Vin Diesel has ten weapons, eh?"
Negative	no digas	no hagas	no vayas	no pongas
	salir	ser	tener	venir
Affirmative	sal	sé	ten	ven
Negative	no salgas	no seas	no tengas	no vengas

This can be memorized with the rhyming mnemonic device "di haz pon ten, sal sé ve ven."

Examples:

Piensa antes de hablar.	Think before you speak.
Termina tus tareas escolares.	Finish your homework.
No dejes la casa.	Don't leave the house.

El vocabulario (Vocabulary) - La salud (Health)

Los cuidados médicos	Medical attention
la salud	health
la enfermedad	the disease
el dolor	the pain
el dolor de cabeza	the headache
el dolor de estómago	the stomachache
el resfriado	the chill, the cold
la medicina	the medicine
el jarabe	the syrup
la gripe	the flu
el hospital	the hospital
la cama	the bed
la camilla	the examining couch
el médico, la médica	the physician
el enfermero, la enfermera	the nurse
el catarro	the cold
la tos	the cough
la fiebre	the fever
la quemadura del sol	the sunburn
el dolor de la muela	the toothache
la pastilla	the pill
la cita	appointment
el consultorio	the doctor's office

El vocabulario (Vocabulary) - El cuerpo (The Body)

Las partes del cuerpo	Body parts
la cabeza	the head
el ojo	the eye
la oreja	the ear
el cuello	the neck
la espalda	the back
more...

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