{"id":142569,"date":"2023-03-10T18:25:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T23:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/vosotros-commands\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T21:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T01:28:02","slug":"vosotros-commands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/vosotros-commands\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Vosotros Commands (With Examples)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a1Escuchad, prestad atenci\u00f3n! <\/em><\/strong>(Listen, pay attention!). Do these words seem unfamiliar or strange to you?\u00a0If you learned Spanish in the Americas, it\u2019s likely that they do, since those commands are in the vosotros <\/em>form.\u00a0The vosotros <\/em>form is the informal, second-person plural form <\/strong>(“you all”) and it’s used exclusively in Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about forming commands in the vosotros <\/em>form.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What is Vosotros?<\/em><\/h2>\n

I like to think of vosotros <\/em>as the Spanish equivalent of “you guys” or “y’all.” In other words, use it in Spain to mean \u201cyou\u201d when referring to multiple people in an informal situation<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\n

\u00bfVais<\/strong> a la fiesta de Pablo? <\/em>(Are you guys<\/strong> going to Pablo\u2019s party?)<\/p>\n

If you learned Latin American Spanish, you’ll probably be accustomed to using the ustedes <\/em>form to refer to any group of more than one person, whether formal or informal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In comparison with many Latin American countries, Spaniards tend to use informal conjugations (t\u00fa <\/em>and vosotros<\/em>) much more<\/strong> frequently<\/strong>\u00a0and reserve ustedes <\/em>exclusively for very formal situations, such as a job interview.<\/p>\n

When to Use V<\/em>osotros<\/em> Commands<\/h2>\n

Now that we\u2019ve gone through when to use vosotros, <\/em>let\u2019s talk about when to use vosotros <\/em>commands.<\/p>\n

Use a vosotros <\/em>command whenever you want to direct or command a group of more than one person<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\n

\u00a1<\/em>Sacad<\/em><\/strong> vuestros libros, por favor! <\/em>(Take out your books, please!)<\/p>\n

Commands are useful for expressing authority, however they can also be polite or friendly. The command\u00a0<\/em>form can be used to suggest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, when speaking to your friends, you could use the command form to say:<\/p>\n

\u00a1Venid<\/strong> a la fiesta! <\/em>(Come to the party!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Pasadlo<\/strong> bien!\u00a0<\/em>(Have a good time!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Contadme<\/strong> lo que os pas\u00f3 anoche! <\/em>(Tell me what happened to you guys last night!)<\/p>\n

In these cases, the commands aren’t really demanding anything\u2014they’re just a way of expressing a suggestion, hope or desire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to Form Vosotros<\/em> Commands<\/h2>\n

In Spanish, you conjugate commands<\/a> differently based on whether you’re making a positive or negative command.<\/p>\n

A positive command is when you tell someone to do something.<\/strong> \u201cGo away,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s go to the movies,\u201d and \u201cSit down, please\u201d are all examples of positive commands.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, you use a negative command when you tell someone not to do something.<\/strong> \u201cDon\u2019t eat that,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t worry\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t go\u201d are all examples of negative commands.<\/p>\n

In this section, we\u2019ll learn how to conjugate positive and negative vosotros <\/em>commands.<\/p>\n

Positive Vosotros <\/em>Commands<\/h3>\n

Forming the positive vosotros <\/em>command is one of the easiest Spanish conjugation rules you\u2019ll ever have to learn:<\/p>\n

Simply take any infinitive verb, drop the final r<\/em>\u00a0and add a d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, the infinitive hablar <\/em><\/strong>(to speak) becomes the command \u00a1hablad! <\/em>(speak!).<\/p>\n

There isn’t a single irregular conjugation for vosotros <\/em>commands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some examples of positive vosotros <\/em>commands:<\/p>\n

\u00a1Mirad<\/strong> la televisi\u00f3n!\u00a0<\/em>(Look at the television!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Venid<\/strong> a cenar!\u00a0<\/em>(Come to have dinner!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Bebed<\/strong> agua!\u00a0<\/em>(Drink water!)<\/p>\n

Negative V<\/em>osotros <\/em>Commands<\/h3>\n

Much like negative t\u00fa, usted\u00a0<\/em>and ustedes <\/em>commands, negative vosotros <\/em>commands require the use of the Spanish subjunctive mood<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For negative commands, -ar, -er\u00a0<\/em>and -ir <\/em>verbs have slightly different rules:<\/p>\n

For -ar <\/em>verbs, to form a negative command you drop the \u00ad-ar <\/em>ending and add -\u00e9is:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a1No habl\u00e9is<\/strong> as\u00ed!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t speak like that!)<\/p>\n

For \u2013er <\/em>and \u2013ir <\/em>verbs, to form a negative command you drop the ending and add -\u00e1is:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a1No vend\u00e1is<\/strong> la casa!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t sell the house!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No sub\u00e1is<\/strong> al autob\u00fas!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t get on the bus!)<\/p>\n

With negative commands, you\u2019ll have to deal with the same stem-changing verbs and irregular forms as you do with the subjunctive. However, if you learn the vosotros <\/em>subjunctive you\u2019ll immediately know the negative commands, and vice versa!<\/p>\n

Here are a few more examples to get you more used to this form:<\/p>\n

\u00a1No veng\u00e1is<\/strong> nunca m\u00e1s a mi casa!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t ever come to my house again.)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No<\/strong> teng\u00e1is<\/strong> miedo!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t be afraid!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No<\/strong> llegu\u00e9is<\/strong> tarde!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t arrive late!)<\/p>\n

With practice, you’ll quickly master negative vosotros<\/em> commands. In the meantime, this handy Spanish verb conjugation tool<\/a>\u00a0is an absolute life-saver.<\/p>\n

Adding Pronouns to Vosotros <\/em>Commands<\/h2>\n

Direct or Indirect Object Pronouns<\/h3>\n

When forming commands in the vosotros <\/em>form, you\u2019ll occasionally want to add direct or indirect object pronouns<\/a> to the command.<\/p>\n

In a positive vosotros <\/em>command, add the object pronoun directly to the end of the word:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a1Hacedlo!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(Do it!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Escuchadme!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(Listen to me!)<\/p>\n

Tenedlo<\/strong> en mente.\u00a0<\/em>(Keep it in mind.)<\/p>\n

With negative commands, on the other hand, the object pronoun goes between the word \u201cno\u201d and the verb:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a1No lo<\/strong> hag\u00e1is!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t do it!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No me<\/strong> dig\u00e1is eso!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t tell me that!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No la<\/strong> compr\u00e9is!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t buy it!)<\/p>\n

Reflexive Pronouns<\/h3>\n

If you’re\u00a0conjugating reflexive verbs<\/a> in the vosotros <\/em>form, you\u2019ll want to use the reflexive pronoun os.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Similar to direct and indirect object pronouns, the reflexive pronoun os <\/em>is placed at the end of positive commands. However, when adding the pronoun os, <\/em>you remove the final d<\/em>\u00a0of the positive command.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a1Callaos!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(Be quiet!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Lavaos<\/strong> las manos!\u00a0<\/em>(Wash your hands!)<\/p>\n

When conjugating an -ir <\/em>verb like this, you need to add an accent mark:<\/p>\n

\u00a1Decid\u00edos!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(Make up your minds!)<\/p>\n

There’s only one irregular conjugation to worry about: The verb irse <\/em>(to leave) retains its final d <\/em>and becomes \u00a1idos! <\/em><\/strong>(Leave!).<\/p>\n

This is the grammatically correct way to conjugate positive commands. However,\u00a0you may notice that there are certain colloquial variations<\/a> that are widely used and accepted in Spain.<\/p>\n

Some speakers will keep the final d<\/em> attached to the command, saying something like \u00a1Sentados! <\/em><\/strong>(Sit down!) instead of sentaos.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Other times, you\u2019ll see people replace that final d <\/em>with an r <\/em>when adding the pronoun os. <\/em>For example, \u00a1Veniros! <\/em><\/strong>(Come here!) instead of ven\u00edos.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Both conjugations are technically \u201cincorrect,\u201d but very common in colloquial speech.<\/p>\n

When it comes to reflexive pronouns, negative commands are much simpler. Much like object pronouns, the os <\/em>simply comes between the word \u201cno\u201d and the verb:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a1No os<\/strong> cas\u00e9is!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t marry each other!)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No os<\/strong> mov\u00e1is!\u00a0<\/em>(Don\u2019t move!)<\/p>\n

Using Media to Learn Vosotros<\/em> Commands<\/h2>\n

The best way to learn the\u00a0vosotros<\/em> commands is to consume native media<\/strong> and see how they are used by native speakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Books and TV shows can be good ways to learn when and how to use\u00a0vosotros\u00a0<\/em>commands. Just make sure the media you choose comes from Spain, since you won’t hear vosotros\u00a0<\/em>in most programs from Latin America.<\/p>\n

For example, you could get the Castilian Spanish translation of\u00a0“Harry Potter.”<\/a>\u00a0 You could also find a Spanish program on Netflix<\/a> like “La casa de papel” <\/em>(“Money Heist”) or change the language on Netflix to “European Spanish” and listen to the dubbed version of your favorite movie.<\/p>\n

For a little extra learning support, you could opt for a language learning program like FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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