Commands: Tú or Usted

Commands change with the person too. The tú command of most verbs looks like the he/she present: pasar → pasa, escribir → escribe, seguir → sigue. The usted command takes the opposite vowel: -ar verbs end in -e, -er/-ir verbs in -a: pase, mire, escriba. Ustedes adds -n: pasen, esperen.

• The usted form is built from the yo form, so irregular stems carry over: vengo → venga, sigo → siga, cierro → cierre, repito → repita
• venir has a short tú command: ven

Use the usted forms with Señor, Señora, Caballero, Doctor, Don/Doña, and tú with friends and family. In Spain a group of friends or children gets the vosotros command ending in -d (pasad, venid, cerrad), which is also accepted here.