ELONIO
Log inSign up

Friega las tazas, por favor.

Friega las tazas, por favor.
Wash the cups, please.
FromLesson 15inHardcore Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of Friega las tazas, por favor.

por favor
please
fregar
to wash
la taza
the cup

Questions & Answers about Friega las tazas, por favor.

Is “friega” a command or a present-tense form here?
It’s the affirmative tú imperative (a command): “Friega…”. It also matches the 3rd person singular present (“he/she scrubs”), but the context with “por favor” makes it clearly a request/command.
How do I give the same command to different people (tú/usted/vosotros/ustedes)?
  • To one person you know (tú): Friega las tazas.
  • To one person formally (usted): Friegue las tazas.
  • To several people you know in Spain (vosotros/as): Fregad las tazas.
  • To several people formally or in Latin America (ustedes): Frieguen las tazas.
What are the negative command forms?

Use the present subjunctive in negatives:

  • tú: No friegues las tazas.
  • usted: No friegue las tazas.
  • vosotros/as: No freguéis las tazas.
  • ustedes: No frieguen las tazas.
Why use “fregar” and not “lavar”?
  • In Spain, fregar is the usual verb for washing dishes and scrubbing floors: “fregar los platos/el suelo.”
  • Lavar is more general (clothes, car, hands, fruit) and is also understood for dishes, but “fregar los platos” sounds more native in Spain.
  • In much of Latin America, people say lavar los platos; “fregar” often means “to scrub” (or colloquially “to annoy”).
What exactly are “tazas”? Are they the same as glasses?
  • taza = cup/mug with a handle (coffee/tea).
  • vaso = glass/tumbler.
  • copa = stemmed glass (wine/champagne).
  • tazón = big bowl-like cup. “Las tazas” is feminine plural, so it takes las.
Why is the article “las” used? Could I omit it?
  • Spanish typically uses the definite article with general household tasks: fregar los platos = “wash the dishes.”
  • “Friega tazas” (no article) is incorrect.
  • “Friega unas tazas” means “wash some cups,” changing the meaning.
How do I say “Wash them, please”?

Attach the object pronoun to an affirmative command:

  • Fríegalas, por favor. Note the accent to keep the stress. With “lavar”: Lávalas, por favor.
Where does “por favor” go, and do I need a comma?
  • Either position works:
  • Use a comma to set off “por favor.”
How do you pronounce “friega”?
  • Approximation: “FRYEH-gah.”
  • IPA (Spain): [ˈfɾje.ɣa].
  • Tips:
    • “ie” is a diphthong like “ye” in “yes.”
    • “g” before “a” is a hard g.
    • The “r” is a quick single tap.
What’s the stem/spelling change in “fregar”?
  • It’s stem-changing: e → ie in stressed forms (friego, friegas, friega…).
  • To keep a hard “g” before “e/i,” Spanish inserts silent “u”: friegue, friegues, frieguen.
  • Hence negative tú is no friegues (not “no fregues”).
Can “friega” mean “fry”?
No. “To fry” is freír. The tú imperative is fríe (with an accent). Friega is from fregar (“to scrub/wash”).
Can I include the subject pronoun “tú”?
You usually omit it: Friega… Adding tú (“Tú friega…”) sounds emphatic or contrastive: “You wash the cups (not someone else).”
How do I address several people informally in Spain?

Use vosotros/as:

  • Affirmative: Fregad las tazas; with a pronoun: Fregadlas.
  • Negative: No freguéis las tazas. Note: The affirmative vosotros form doesn’t keep the stem change.
Is “Friega las tazas” polite enough?

It’s direct; por favor softens it. More indirect/polite options:

  • ¿Puedes fregar las tazas, por favor?
  • ¿Podrías fregar las tazas?
  • ¿Te importa fregar las tazas?
  • Formal: ¿Podría usted fregar las tazas?
Any common alternatives or set phrases?
  • Very common in Spain: Friega los platos (“wash the dishes”).
  • Also fine: Lava los platos/las tazas.
  • Informal Spain: Friega los cacharros (cacharros = pots/dishes).
Can I drop the object if it’s obvious?
You can, but it may be unclear. Friega, por favor is more likely taken as “scrub/mop (the floor).” Keep the object unless the context makes it unmistakable.
Why doesn’t “friega” have an accent mark?
Words ending in a vowel are stressed on the penultimate syllable by default. “Friega” naturally stresses “FRIE-,” so no accent is needed. An accent appears when adding clitics to keep the stress: Fríegalas.
Should I use exclamation marks?
Optional. For a stronger command: ¡Friega las tazas, por favor! Spanish uses both opening and closing marks. For a neutral request, a period is fine.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Spanish grammar?”
Spanish grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Spanish

Master Spanish — from Friega las tazas, por favor to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Spanish→