hablemos/comamos/escribamos

Nosotros Commands

Level 3

Say let’s with the nosotros present subjunctive: hablemos, comamos, escribamos. With ir, vamos is the usual affirmative form, and vayamos is also valid.

How It Works

Nosotros commands, also known as first-person plural commands, are used to make a suggestion that includes the speaker. They are the Spanish equivalent of "Let's..." in English.

Formation:
Most affirmative and negative nosotros exhortations share the same verb form, with the word no added for the negative. They use the nosotros form of the present subjunctive.

For regular verbs, use this rule:
1. Start with the yo form of the present indicative (e.g., hablo, como, vivo).
2. Drop the final -o.
3. Add the opposite ending:
- For -ar verbs, add -emos.
- For -er and -ir verbs, add -amos.

  • -AR verbs: hablar → hablo → habl- → hablemos (Let's talk)
  • -ER verbs: comer → como → com- → comamos (Let's eat)
  • -IR verbs: vivir → vivo → viv- → vivamos (Let's live)

Stem-Changing Verbs:

  • Diphthongizing -AR and -ER verbs with e→ie or o→ue do not change in the nosotros form. (e.g., pensar → pensemos; volver → volvamos)
  • -IR stem-changing verbs do have a stem change: e→i or o→u. (e.g., pedir → pidamos; dormir → durmamos)

Irregular Verbs:
Some verbs are irregular. Here are the most common ones:

Note on 'Ir': For an affirmative suggestion, vamos is much more frequent than vayamos, but Vayamos a la playa is also correct and can sound more formal or literary. Use no vayamos for the negative suggestion.

With Pronouns:

Examples (6)

  1. Hablemos más tarde.

    Let's talk later.

    Word by Word: Let's talk more late.

  2. Comamos en ese restaurante nuevo.

    Let's eat at that new restaurant.

    Word by Word: Let's eat in that restaurant new.

  3. No salgamos esta noche, estoy cansado.

    Let's not go out tonight, I'm tired.

    Word by Word: Not let's go out this night, I am tired.

    The negative command uses the same verb form as the affirmative, preceded by 'no'.

  4. Pidamos la cuenta, por favor.

    Let's ask for the check, please.

    Word by Word: Let's ask for the bill, please.

    'Pedir' is an e→i stem-changing -ir verb, so its nosotros command is 'pidamos'.

  5. Vamos al cine.

    Let's go to the movies.

    Word by Word: Let's go to the movies.

    Vamos is the usual affirmative exhortation with ir. Vayamos is also correct, though less frequent and often more formal or literary.

  6. Sentémonos aquí.

    Let's sit here.

    Word by Word: Let's sit us here.

    For the reflexive verb 'sentarse', the pronoun 'nos' is attached. The final 's' of 'sentemos' is dropped before adding 'nos' (sentemos + nos → sentémonos).

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the infinitive ending before the nosotros subjunctive ending.

    Comeramos ahora.
    Comamos ahora.

    Remove -er from comer before adding -amos: comamos. Comemos ahora is a valid indicative statement and can suggest a plan in context, but comamos explicitly expresses the exhortation.

  • Forgetting the o→u stem change in -ir verbs like 'dormir'.

    Dormamos ocho horas.
    Durmamos ocho horas.

    -IR verbs that have an o→ue stem change in the present indicative (duermo) have an o→u change in the nosotros form of the subjunctive/command.

  • Keeping the final s before nos in an affirmative nosotros exhortation.

    Sentémosnos aquí.
    Sentémonos aquí.

    Drop the final s of sentemos before attaching nos. Keep the accent to preserve stress. Both vamos and vayamos are valid affirmative exhortations with ir; neither belongs in an incorrect-form example.

How It Connects

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

hablemos/comamos/escribamosLevel 3Nosotros Commands

Learn This First

Nosotros commands (let's...) are formed using the 'nosotros' form of the present subjunctive. To learn this, you must first understand how to conjugate verbs in the present subjunctive for both -AR and -ER/-IR verb groups, as well as the concept of the 'nosotros' subject pronoun.

Words in This Pattern

-emos-amos