Negative Commands & Ojalá
Negative commands with all persons: ¡No hables!, ¡No coman! Learn ojalá (hopefully / I wish), which is always followed by the subjunctive in Spanish. Practice expressing wishes and hopes about uncertain outcomes.
A lesson of Spanish B1 — Intermediate, in Subjunctive & Commands, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to give negative commands in all persons and use ojalá naturally to express strong hope or wishful thinking.
Negative Commands — The Overview
Negative commands ("don't do X!") follow a clean pattern in Spanish. Across all persons, the negative command is formed from the present subjunctive:
- Informal singular (tú): No + present subjunctive tú form
- Formal (usted): No + present subjunctive Ud. form
- Formal plural (ustedes): No + present subjunctive Uds. form
- Informal plural (vosotros — Spain): No + present subjunctive vosotros form
Negative Tú Commands
The informal tú affirmative command (habla, come, vive) is different from the negative. The negative tú command always uses the subjunctive:
| Infinitive | Affirmative tú | Negative tú |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habla | ¡No hables! |
| comer | come | ¡No comas! |
| escribir | escribe | ¡No escribas! |
| ir | ve | ¡No vayas! |
| ser | sé | ¡No seas! |
| hacer | haz | ¡No hagas! |
| salir | sal | ¡No salgas! |
| poner | pon | ¡No pongas! |
| tener | ten | ¡No tengas! |
¡No hables en clase! — Don't talk in class! ¡No seas tan impaciente! — Don't be so impatient!
Negative Formal Commands
These match the negative tú rule — they're simply the Ud./Uds. subjunctive with no:
No hable usted tan rápido. — Don't speak so fast. No sin permiso. — Don't leave without permission. — Don't worry. (reflexive pronoun stays before verb)