Español — Negative imperative
To tell someone NOT to do something in Spanish, you don't use the affirmative command forms. Instead, every negative command — for tú, usted, vosotros and ustedes — is built from the present subjunctive: no hables, no comas, no salgáis, no venga.
How it works
Take the present subjunctive form for the person and put no in front of it. So -ar verbs end in -es/-e/-éis/-en (no hables) and -er/-ir verbs end in -as/-a/-áis/-an (no comas, no venga). Any object or reflexive pronoun goes between no and the verb, never attached to the end: no te preocupes, no lo hagas.
Examples
| Person | Negative command |
|---|---|
| tú (hablar) | no hables |
| tú (comer) | no comas |
| usted (venir) | no venga |
| nosotros (salir) | no salgamos |
| vosotros (salir) | no salgáis |
| ustedes (hablar) | no hablen |
| tú (reflexive: preocuparse) | no te preocupes |
Good to know
The common trap is the tú form. The affirmative attaches pronouns and looks different (habla, ven, hazlo, siéntate), but the negative always switches to the subjunctive with the pronoun before the verb: not «no ven» but no vengas, not «no hazlo» but no lo hagas, not «no siéntate» but no te sientes.