Commands With vostede

Formal Commands with Vostede

Level 2

When you speak politely to someone as vostede, commands use a different form: Pase, por favor (come in, please), Agarde un momento (wait a moment).

How It Works

Why a different form? The imperative proper exists only for ti and vós. Vostede takes third-person verbs, so its commands borrow the third-person present subjunctive.

Forming it. Start from the eu form of the present, drop the -o and add the "opposite" vowel:

  • -ar: paso → pase / pasen
  • -er: collo → colla / collan
  • -ir: sigo → siga / sigan

This trick also gives most irregular forms, because the subjunctive is built on the same stem: fago → faga, digo → diga, veño → veña, teño → teña, poño → poña, saio → saia, traio → traia, vexo → vexa. A few must simply be learned: ir → vaia, ser → sexa, estar → estea, dar → dea. You will meet these again in irregular subjunctives.

Pronouns. An affirmative polite command takes its pronoun at the end, often with a written accent: Séntese (sit down), Dígame (tell me, or "hello, how can I help?" on the phone). With non the pronoun goes in front: Non se preocupe (do not worry). See commands with pronouns.

Everyday phrases. Many polite set phrases are vostede commands: Desculpe (excuse me), Perdoe (sorry), Teña (here you are, when handing something over).

Examples (6)

  1. Pase, por favor.

    Come in, please. (formal)

    Word by Word: Pass, please.

  2. Agarde un momento.

    Wait a moment. (formal)

    Word by Word: Wait a moment.

  3. Sigan por esta rúa ata a praza.

    Continue along this street to the square. (to several people, formal)

    Word by Word: Follow along this street until the square.

  4. Séntese aquí, que estará máis cómodo.

    Sit here, you will be more comfortable. (formal)

    Word by Word: Sit-yourself here, that will-be more comfortable.

    Sentar + se: the pronoun joins the end, and the word takes an accent because it becomes stressed on the third-last syllable.

  5. Teña, o seu café.

    Here you are, your coffee. (formal)

    Word by Word: Have, the your coffee.

  6. Colla a primeira rúa á dereita.

    Take the first street on the right. (formal)

    Word by Word: Take the first street to-the right.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the ti command with someone you address as vostede.

    Agarda un momento, señora.
    Agarde un momento, señora.

    Agarda is the ti command. If you call someone vostede (here, señora), the polite command is agarde.

  • Copying the Spanish diphthong into sentar.

    Siéntese, por favor.
    Séntese, por favor.

    Galician sentar has no ie diphthong: sento, sente, séntese.

  • Using the vós command for a group you address formally.

    Pasade, señores.
    Pasen, señores.

    Pasade addresses a group you would call vós, informally. For vostedes, use the subjunctive plural pasen.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Commands With vostedeLevel 2Formal Commands with Vostede

Learn This First

Formal commands use third-person forms that are introduced here without requiring the later full subjunctive course.

Words in This Pattern

vostedes