COMMANDS and
POR-PARA
Study guide
The formal and commands are
polite requests that you make of
adults who are not close friends.
This includes patients if you are a doctor
(unless your patients are young children),
clients for businessmen, even waiters since
in most Hispanic countries you will not find a
teenager bouncing over to your table with a
"Hey! I'm Jim!" name-tag on.
When in doubt, use the Ud. (usted) form
unless you are invited to do otherwise.
The Plural form represents commands or
requests of more than one person. Like
"ustedes" itself, the plural command form is
neither formal nor informal in Latin
America.
Let's make a Formal Command. We'll use the
verb Hablar.
1.
We always start with the first person
singular "Yo" form of the verb: hablo
2.
Now drop the "o" : habl-
3.
Now we attach the "opposite" vowel
ending to our verb stem to form our
command:
4.
¡ Hable !
o
o
We use the "e" -the vowel we normally
use with -Ir and -Er verbs for the -Ar
verbs .
And we use "a" with the -Ir and -Er
verbs!
o
If the "Yo" form is irregular, the command
will be irregular:
1.
For example, Traer
2.
the present tense "Yo" form is Traig
3.
We drop the "o" : Traig-
4.
We add the opposite ending: `a' [Traer
is an -ER verb, so the opposite ending is
the -AR ending.]
5.
And we have our command: Traiga
("Bring!")
The Usted and Ustedes command forms are the
Ud. and Uds. form of the Present Subjunctive.
Here are the endings for the formal
commands:
Usted
(Formal
AR
VERBS
IR/ER
VERBS
e
a
form)
Ustedes
en
an
(Plural form)
If the Yo form is irregular in the Present
Tense, it will be irregular in the Formal &
Plural command form.
Ud.
Infinitive
Yo form
Command
Form
Salir
Salgo
Salga
Hacer
Hago
Haga
Poner
Pongo
Ponga
Decir
Digo
Diga
Venir
Vengo
Venga
With verbs that end in "Y" in the Yo form as
well as Saber are very irregular:
Ud.
Infinitive
Yo form
Command
Form
Estar
Estoy
Esté
Dar
Doy
Dé
Ser
Soy
Sea
Ir
Voy
Vaya
Saber
Sé
Sepa
If there is a stem change in the Present Tense,
there will be a stem change in the Command
(Present Subjunctive) form:
Ud.
Infinitive
Yo form
Command
Form
Pedir
Pido
Pida
Pensar
Pienso
Piense
Dormir
Duermo
Duerma
Atender
Atiendo
Atienda
Hervir
Hiervo
Hierva
Entender
Entiendo
Entienda
Poder
Puedo
Pueda
Freír
Frío
Fría
uses of
por
AND
para
POR or para
Uses for por:
1.
Expressing movement along, through, around,
by or about: Anduve por las calles de la ciudad. I
walked through the streets of the city.
Denoting a time or duration when something
occurs. Viajamos por tres semanas. We're traveling
for three weeks.
Expressing the cause (not the purpose) of an
action: Me caí por la nieve. I fell down because of
the snow.
Meaning per: Dos por ciento. Two percent.
Meaning supporting or in favor of: Trabajamos
por derechos humanos. We work for human rights.
Introducing the agent of an action after a
passive verb: Fue escrito por Bob Woodward. It
was written by Bob Woodward.
Indicating means of transportation: Viajaré por
avión. I will travel by plane.
Used in numerous expressions: Por ejemplo. For
example. Por favor. Please.
Uses for para:
for the purpose of or in
order to: Para bailar la bamba, necesita una
Meaning
poca de gracia. In order to dance the bamba you
need a little grace.
With a noun or pronoun as object, meaning for
the benefit of or directed to: Es para usted. It's
for you.
Meaning to or in the direction of when referring
to a specific place: Voy para Europa. I'm heading
to Europe.
Meaning by or for when referring to a specific
time: Necesito el regalo para mañana. I need the
gift for tomorrow. Vamos a la casa de mi madre
para el fin de semana. We're going to my mother's
for the weekend.
UsES OF por AND para 2.
Realidades 2 A PRIMERA VISTA