Imperative
Affirmative and negative commands, irregular forms, pronoun attachment, and politeness.
Affirmative commands use imperative forms; negative commands use the present subjunctive
Catalan has dedicated affirmative forms, especially for tu and vosaltres. Every negative command begins with no and uses the present subjunctive. Polite vostè/vostès commands also use subjunctive forms.
Regular model: parlar
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | parla | no parlis |
| vostè | parli | no parli |
| nosaltres | parlem | no parlem |
| vosaltres | parleu | no parleu |
| vostès | parlin | no parlin |
High-frequency irregular commands
| Verb | tu | vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dir | digues | digui | diguem | digueu | diguin |
| anar | ves | vagi | anem | aneu | vagin |
| fer | fes | faci | fem | feu | facin |
| ser | sigues | sigui | siguem | sigueu | siguin |
| tenir | tingues | tingui | tinguem | tingueu | tinguin |
| venir | vine | vingui | vinguem | veniu | vinguin |
| voler (set/rare command) | vulgues | vulgui | vulguem | vulgueu | vulguin |
Vulguis is the tu present subjunctive and therefore appears in a negative command: No vulguis fer-ho tot sol. Affirmative vulgues is restricted; ordinary requests use vols...?, vulgues o no vulgues and other constructions.
Pronoun attachment
Attach clitics to an affirmative command with hyphens and apostrophes: dona’m, compra’l, digues-me’l, vés-te’n, poseu-vos-hi. Pronunciation can create written adjustments, but the underlying order stays visible. In a negative command, put clitics before the verb: no em donis, no el compris, no te’n vagis.
Making a command socially appropriate
Bare imperatives can sound direct. Soften them with si us plau, quan puguis, sisplau or turn them into a question: Em pots passar la sal? Podria signar aquí?. Public instructions often use the infinitive or impersonal structures, but a learner should prefer a real conjugated command when addressing someone.
Examples in context
Tanca la porta, si us plau.
Close the door, please.
No obris la finestra; fa molt fred.
Don’t open the window; it’s very cold.
Digues-me la veritat.
Tell me the truth.
Aquest document, envia-me’l avui.
Send me this document today.
No me’l donis encara.
Don’t give it to me yet.
Ves-te’n a casa i descansa.
Go home and rest.
Sigueu puntuals demà al matí.
Be on time tomorrow morning.
No us hi quedeu fins massa tard.
Don’t stay there too late.
Posem-nos d’acord abans de començar.
Let’s agree before starting.
Your progress stays privately in this browser.