Breakdown of No olvides traer tu identificación a la estación.
la estación
the station
a
to
traer
to bring
tu
your
Questions & Answers about No olvides traer tu identificación a la estación.
Why is it No olvides and not No olvidas?
No olvides is a negative command (telling someone not to do something) directed at tú (informal “you”).
- Olvidas = you forget (simple statement: You forget your ID a lot.)
- No olvides = don’t forget (command: Don’t forget your ID.)
In Spanish, tú commands use special forms:
- Affirmative: Olvida tu identificación. (Forget your ID.)
- Negative: No olvides tu identificación. (Don’t forget your ID.)
So olvides here is the present subjunctive, which is what negative tú commands use.
Is olvides in the subjunctive? Why use the subjunctive for a command?
Yes, olvides is the present subjunctive of olvidar (tú form).
Spanish forms commands like this:
- Informal tú affirmative command: use 3rd person singular indicative
- Olvida (forget)
- Informal tú negative command: use 2nd person singular subjunctive
- No olvides (don’t forget)
So when you say No olvides…, Spanish grammar requires the subjunctive form olvides after no for a negative command.
Could I say No te olvides de traer tu identificación instead? Is there a difference?