How to Give an Informal Command of Hacer in Spanish
If you’re looking to improve your Spanish, it’s essential to know how to give commands. Commands make it easy for you to communicate effectively with others, especially when giving instructions or orders. One of the most commonly used and versatile verbs in Spanish is hacer, which means “to do” or “to make.”
In this blog post, we’re going to focus on giving informal commands with hacer in Spanish. We’ll cover the different forms of informal commands, when to use them, and provide you with relevant examples.
What are Informal Commands?
Before diving into the specifics of informal commands with hacer, it’s important to understand what commands are. Commands are statements that instruct or request someone to do something, and they come in two forms: formal and informal.
Formal commands are used to address someone with whom you’re not on a first-name basis or someone of higher authority. On the other hand, informal commands are used to address someone with whom you have a close relationship or someone younger than you.
Informal commands with hacer are commonly used in situations where you’re addressing friends, family, or anyone with whom you have a friendly relationship. Now let’s look at the different forms of informal commands with hacer.
Informal Commands with Hacer
There are two forms of informal commands with hacer: the affirmative and negative command forms. The affirmative command is used to give instructions, while the negative command is used to prohibit something from happening.
To form the affirmative command of hacer, you simply drop the -s ending of the second-person singular (tú) form of the present indicative. For hacer, this means dropping the -s from haces, making it hacer.
Example: Haces la cama. → Haz la cama. (Make the bed.)
To form the negative command, you use the second-person singular (tú) form of the present subjunctive and add the word no before the verb. For hacer, this means forming the present subjunctive of hacer, which is hagas, and adding no before it, making it no hagas.
Example: No haces la cama. → No hagas la cama. (Don’t make the bed.)
It’s important to note that irregular verbs have different forms for the second-person singular (tú) form of the present subjunctive and should be memorized separately.
When to Use Informal Commands with Hacer
Now that we’ve covered the different forms of informal commands with hacer, let’s look at some situations in which you can use them.
1. Giving instructions: When you want to give someone instructions on how to do something, you can use the affirmative command.
Example: Haz la tarea. (Do the homework.)
2. Prohibiting something: When you want to prohibit someone from doing something, you can use the negative command.
Example: No hagas eso. (Don’t do that.)
3. Making a request: When you want to make a request, you can use the affirmative command.
Example: Hazme un favor. (Do me a favor.)
4. Giving advice: When you want to give someone advice on what to do, you can use the affirmative command.
Example: Haz ejercicio todos los días. (Exercise every day.)
Conclusion
Giving commands with hacer in Spanish is an essential part of communicating effectively with others. Whether you’re giving instructions, making a request, or giving advice, using informal commands can help you get your point across.
Remember, to form the affirmative command of hacer, you simply drop the -s ending of the second-person singular (tú) form of the present indicative. For the negative command, you use the second-person singular (tú) form of the present subjunctive and add the word no before the verb.
By mastering informal commands with hacer, you’ll be able to communicate more effectively and build better relationships with Spanish-speaking friends and family.