Verbs: Imperative Mood

01

The Affirmative Imperative: Telling Someone to Do Something

There are two primary ways to form affirmative commands, which are often categorized as informal and formal/standard.

Informal Commands

In everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, the most common way to give a command to one person (você) is to use the same form as the third-person singular (ele, ela) of the present indicative tense.

• Entra, por favor. A porta está aberta.

  Come in, please. The door is open.

• Come um pouco de salada.

  Eat a little salad.

• Pega o meu casaco pra mim.

  Grab my coat for me.

In some regions of Brazil where tu is used, the informal command is formed by taking the present tense tu form and dropping the final -s. For most verbs, this results in the same form as the informal você command.

• Bebe mais água.

  Drink more water. (From tu bebes)

Formal or Standard Commands

These forms are derived from the present subjunctive. They are used in more formal situations, in writing, and are the basis for all negative commands.

The rule for forming them is:

1. Start with the eu form of the present indicative (e.g., falo, bebo, abro).

2. Drop the final -o.

3. Add the "opposite" vowel endings:

• For -ar verbs: -e (você), -emos (nós), -em (vocês).
• For -er and -ir verbs: -a (você), -amos (nós), -am (vocês).

Examples with falar (to speak):

• Por favor, fale mais devagar.

  Please, speak more slowly. (você)

• Falemos com ele amanhã.

  Let's speak with him tomorrow. (nós)

• Falem somente o necessário.

  Speak only what is necessary. (vocês)

Examples with beber (to drink):

• Beba este chá. Vai te fazer bem.

  Drink this tea. It will do you good. (você)

• Bebamos um café antes da reunião.

  Let's drink a coffee before the meeting. (nós)

• Bebam com moderação.

  Drink with moderation. (vocês)

02

The Negative Imperative: Telling Someone Not to Do Something

Forming negative commands is straightforward. You always use the word não followed by the present subjunctive form of the verb. This means the verb forms are identical to the formal/standard affirmative commands.

• Não fale com a boca cheia.

  Don't speak with your mouth full.

• Não beba o leite, ele azedou.

  Don't drink the milk, it has soured.

• Não abram os presentes ainda!

  Don't open the presents yet!

Notice the direct contrast with the informal affirmative:

Affirmative: Come o bolo. - Eat the cake.

Negative: Não coma o bolo. - Don't eat the cake.

03

Common Irregular Verbs in the Imperative

Many common verbs are irregular in the imperative. Their forms follow their irregular present subjunctive conjugations.

Ser (to be) → seja, sejamos, sejam

• Seja gentil com todos.

  Be kind to everyone.

• Não seja por isso.

  Don't worry about it. (Literally: Let it not be for that.)

Ir (to go) → vá, vamos, vão

• Vá com cuidado.

  Go carefully.

• Não vá embora.

  Don't go away.

Fazer (to do/make) → faça, façamos, façam

• Faça uma lista de compras.

  Make a shopping list.

• Não faça isso.

  Don't do that.

Dizer (to say/tell) → diga, digamos, digam

• Diga-me o que aconteceu.

  Tell me what happened.

• Não diga mentiras.

  Don't tell lies.

04

Using Object Pronouns with the Imperative

The placement of object pronouns like me (me), o (him/it), a (her/it), or nos (us) depends on whether the command is affirmative or negative.

With Affirmative Commands: The pronoun is attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen.

• O telefone está tocando. Atenda-o, por favor.

  The phone is ringing. Answer it, please.

• Espere-nos na entrada do cinema.

  Wait for us at the cinema entrance.

With Negative Commands: The pronoun is placed before the verb.

• Eu sei a resposta. Não me diga!

  I know the answer. Don't tell me!

• Este é o meu lugar. Não o ocupe.

  This is my seat. Don't occupy it.