no hablés/no comás/no vengás

Negative Vos Commands

Level 3

To tell someone 'don't do something' using vos, use no followed by the vos present subjunctive form. This form naturally has the stress on the final syllable and requires a written accent mark: no hablés, no comás.

How It Works

The negative vos command is a distinct grammatical form used by millions of speakers, primarily in Central America and the Southern Cone.

1. How to form it:
Start with the present subjunctive stem (including irregulars like hag-, veng-, salg-) and add the stressed endings:

  • -ar verbs: add -és (hablar → no hablés [don't speak])
  • -er/-ir verbs: add -ás (comer → no comás [don't eat], venir → no vengás [don't come])

2. Affirmative vs. Negative:
A common point of confusion is the final 's'. Remember that affirmative vos commands drop the final 's', while negative commands keep it (e.g., ¡hablá! [speak!] vs. ¡no hablés! [don't speak!] / ¡vení! [come!] vs. ¡no vengás! [don't come!]).

3. Stem-Changing Verbs:
Because the stress falls on the final syllable, stem-changing verbs lose their diphthongs in the negative vos command (e.g., pensar becomes no pensés [don't think]). However, -ir verbs keep their secondary vowel shifts (o→u, e→i), which is why dormir becomes no durmás [don't sleep] and sentir becomes no sintás [don't feel].

4. Spelling Changes:
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar undergo standard spelling changes to maintain their pronunciation: tocar → no toqués [don't touch], llegar → no llegués [don't arrive], and empezar → no empecés [don't start].

5. Irregulars and Identical Forms:
Some highly common verbs have irregular negative vos commands, such as ir (no vayás [don't go]), ser (no seás [don't be]), and saber (no sepás [don't know]). Note the dramatic shift for the verb ir: ¡andá! [go!] (affirmative, borrowed from andar) → ¡no vayás! [don't go!] (negative). Additionally, some verbs look identical to the tú form because of their natural stress, like estar (no estés [don't be]) and dar (no des [don't give]).

6. Pronoun Placement:
Unlike affirmative commands where pronouns attach to the end, negative commands require pronouns to be placed before the verb as separate words: no me digás [don't tell me]. Remember that the reflexive pronoun for vos is te (e.g., no te levantés [don't get up], no te vayás [don't leave]).

7. Nuance and Register:
In Central America, this is the standard everyday form. In Argentina and Uruguay (Rioplatense Spanish), the negative tú commands (no hables) are often the prestige or written standard, but the stressed vos forms (no hablés) are still extremely common in everyday colloquial speech. They are often used for peremptory commands, sounding just a bit more intense or brusque. For example, compare ¡No me hables! (a standard request) with ¡No me hablés! (a sharp 'Don't talk to me!').

Examples (5)

  1. No te pongás así.

    Don't get like that. / Don't be that way.

    Word by Word: No yourself put like that.

    Notice how the reflexive pronoun 'te' comes before the verb, and 'pongás' uses the irregular 'yo' stem (pong-) with the stressed -ás ending.

  2. No me digás mentiras.

    Don't tell me lies.

    Word by Word: No to me tell lies.

    The indirect object pronoun 'me' precedes the verb. The verb 'decir' uses its irregular stem 'dig-'.

  3. No te vayás todavía.

    Don't leave yet.

    Word by Word: No yourself go yet.

    Uses the irregular subjunctive stem of 'irse' (vay-) with the stressed -ás ending.

  4. No pensés en eso ahora.

    Don't think about that now.

    Word by Word: No think in that now.

    Because the stress falls on the final syllable (-és), the stem-changing verb 'pensar' loses its diphthong (e→ie), becoming 'pensés' instead of 'pienses'.

  5. No comás eso, está feo.

    Don't eat that, it's bad.

    Word by Word: No eat that, it is bad.

    A standard -er verb taking the -ás ending with a written accent.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the affirmative command form with 'no'.

    No vení mañana.
    No vengás mañana.

    Learners often try to make a negative command by simply putting 'no' in front of the affirmative command. However, negative commands in Spanish must use the subjunctive mood.

  • Attaching pronouns to the end of the negative command.

    No preocupate.
    No te preocupés.

    While pronouns attach to the end of affirmative commands (preocupate), they must be placed before the verb as separate words in negative commands.

How It Connects

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

no hablés/no comás/no vengásLevel 3Negative Vos Commands

Learn This First

To use the negative vos commands you first need to be comfortable with the pronoun vos. These commands are built on the present subjunctive, so you also need those endings, with the stress kept on the last syllable. Finally, you need the basic rules of negation.

Words in This Pattern