Lesson 53. Come here! Ven, mira

Asking a friend to do something

To tell someone you call tú to do something, use the form that matches the present-tense he / she form:

Infinitive	Él / ella	Command
hablar	habla	¡Habla! — speak
mirar	mira	¡Mira! — look
comer	come	¡Come! — eat
leer	lee	¡Lee! — read
escribir	escribe	¡Escribe! — write

Stem changes stay: volver → vuelve, seguir → sigue.

Special forms

Seven common verbs have a short form:

Verb	Command
venir	ven
decir	di
hacer	haz
tener	ten
ir	ve
poner	pon
salir	sal

Sal (“go out”) is spelled like la sal, salt, from lesson 38; the context tells you which one it is.

Set words

Ten cuidado — “be careful”: a common use of ten. Toma — “here you are” (when you hand something over). Oye — “hey, listen.” Perdona — “sorry, excuse me.” ¡Cuidado! — “careful!” Para ti — “for you”: learn it as a set phrase for now.

Short words like me and lo attach to the end of the command: dime — “tell me,” ponlo — “put it.” For now, just recognize them.

This lesson covers only positive commands. “Don’t…” works differently. With people you call usted, say oiga and perdone.