Negative informal commands (no hables, no comas)

Negative Informal Commands

When taking care of an infant, you will often need to tell people (or a crawling baby!) what not to do. To form negative informal () commands for regular verbs, start with no, drop the infinitive ending, and add the "opposite" vowel plus -s:

  • For -ar verbs, add -es.
  • For -er and -ir verbs, add -as.
InfinitiveNegative Command
hablar (to speak)no hables
tirar (to throw)no tires
comer (to eat)no comas

Here are -ar verbs taking the -es ending:

Do not speak loudly because the baby is sleeping.
No hables fuerte porque el bebé duerme.
Don't throw the diaper on the floor.
No tires el pañal al piso.
Do not dirty the crib.
No ensucies la cuna.
Do not leave the baby bottle in the crib.
No dejes el biberón en la cuna.

And an -er verb taking the -as ending:

Do not eat the baby food because it is for the baby.
No comas la papilla porque es para el bebé.