Irregular Commands

Level 2

Several everyday verbs have short, irregular commands to ti: Ven aquí! (come here), Di a verdade (tell the truth), Pon a mesa (set the table).

How It Works

The most useful irregular commands:

  • dicir (say): di / dicide
  • facer (do, make): fai / facede
  • vir (come): ven / vinde
  • ir (go): vai / ide
  • pór or poñer (put): pon / ponde (pór) or poñede (poñer)
  • ser (be): sé / sede
  • ter (have): ten / tede or tende (both are standard)
  • dar (give): dá / dade

Forms that look regular. Ver gives ve / vede, traer gives trae / traede, saír gives sae / saíde and oír gives oe / oíde. They follow the normal rule, but they are worth learning because their present tenses are irregular (present of dicir, traer, saír and oír).

Written accents that change the meaning. Galician uses a diacritic accent to tell some short words apart:

  • ven (come!) has no accent, while vén means "he or she comes".
  • sé (be!) has an accent to separate it from the pronoun and conjunction se.
  • dá (give!) keeps the accent that separates it from da (de + a).

See diacritic accents. Di, fai, pon, vai and ten carry no accent.

Polite and negative commands are different. These forms are only for affirmative commands to ti and vós. With vostede you use the subjunctive (Veña, Diga, Faga), and after non too (Non digas iso). See formal commands and negative commands.

Examples (6)

  1. Ven aquí un momento!

    Come here for a moment!

    Word by Word: Come here a moment!

  2. Di a verdade.

    Tell the truth.

    Word by Word: Say the truth.

  3. Pon a mesa, que xa imos cear.

    Set the table, we are about to have dinner.

    Word by Word: Put the table, that already we-go to-dine.

  4. Fai os deberes antes de xogar.

    Do your homework before playing.

    Word by Word: Do the homework before of to-play.

  5. Vai á panadaría e trae pan.

    Go to the bakery and bring some bread.

    Word by Word: Go to-the bakery and bring bread.

  6. Ide vós diante, que eu vou logo.

    You all go ahead, I will come later.

    Word by Word: Go you-all ahead, that I go later.

    Ide is the vós command of ir.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the command ven with an accent.

    Vén aquí!
    Ven aquí!

    Vén with an accent means "he or she comes". The command "come!" is written ven, without an accent.

  • Building a regular-looking command for pór or poñer.

    Poñe a mesa.
    Pon a mesa.

    The ti command of both pór and poñer is pon. The vós command is ponde (pór) or poñede (poñer).

  • Using a vostede form with a friend you call ti.

    Uxía, diga a verdade!
    Uxía, di a verdade!

    Diga is the polite subjunctive form for vostede. Uxía is a friend you call ti, so the command is di.

How It Connects

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

Irregular CommandsLevel 2

Learn This First

Some frequent verbs have irregular affirmative commands.

Words in This Pattern

dicirfacervirpórpoñer