Habla becomes no hables: Spanish negative commands with no te preocupes as an example.
B1-B2 . Ejercicios de gramática . Imperativo . Subjuntivo - imperativo negativo

Negative commands in Spanish: rules and exercises

On 25/03/2024 by

Last Updated on 19/10/2026 by SpanishUnicorn

In English, “speak” becomes “don’t speak”. Spanish changes the verb too: habla → no hables. That small change is the point of this lesson.

A2–B1 · English explanations · 30 multiple-choice questions. Start with everyday meanings, practise the verb forms, then put pronouns in the right place. You can open every answer and explanation without finishing the quiz.

Start practising · See the rule · Pair activity

How do Spanish negative commands work?

Use no + the present subjunctive. You do not normally create a negative command by adding no to the affirmative form.

Affirmative

Habla. — Speak.
Come. — Eat.
Ven. — Come here.

Negative

No hables. — Don’t speak.
No comas. — Don’t eat.
No vengas. — Don’t come.

Negative commands can be warnings, requests or advice. No te preocupes means “Don’t worry”. No grites en la biblioteca means “Don’t shout in the library”. Tone and context matter: the grammar alone does not make a request polite.

No comes chocolate describes a habit: “You don’t eat chocolate”. No comas chocolate is an instruction: “Don’t eat chocolate”.

Choose who you are speaking to

PersonHablarComerVivir
Túno hablesno comasno vivas
Ustedno hableno comano viva
Nosotros/asno hablemosno comamosno vivamos
Vosotros/asno habléisno comáisno viváis
Ustedesno hablenno comanno vivan

Usted and ustedes are forms of “you”, not “he” or “they”. We use these labels when addressing someone directly. Nosotros means “let’s not…” and includes the speaker.

Vosotros is mainly used in Spain. In Latin America, ustedes is used for plural “you”. The exercises specify the person; vos forms are outside this lesson.

For regular verbs: -ar takes -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en; -er and -ir take -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.

Reference: all 14 verbs from this practice
VerbTúUstedNosotrosVosotrosUstedes
hablarno hablesno hableno hablemosno habléisno hablen
comerno comasno comano comamosno comáisno coman
vivirno vivasno vivano vivamosno viváisno vivan
darno desno déno demosno deisno den
decirno digasno digano digamosno digáisno digan
estarno estésno esténo estemosno estéisno estén
hacerno hagasno hagano hagamosno hagáisno hagan
irno vayasno vayano vayamosno vayáisno vayan
poderno puedasno puedano podamosno podáisno puedan
ponerno pongasno pongano pongamosno pongáisno pongan
salirno salgasno salgano salgamosno salgáisno salgan
serno seasno seano seamosno seáisno sean
tenerno tengasno tengano tengamosno tengáisno tengan
venirno vengasno vengano vengamosno vengáisno vengan

Poder is retained for form reference. For an everyday request, use the action verb: no abras la puerta, rather than treating no puedas as a normal “don’t” command.

Exercise 1 · Understand the message

SpanishUnicorn
A2–B110 questionsStep 1 of 3

Choose the Spanish sentence that matches the meaning and person. There is one correct answer.

0 / 1010 questions

1. You want to say “Don’t shout in the library” to a friend (tú).

Use grites for a negative command to tú. Gritas describes an action.

2. A friend is worried. Choose “Don’t worry” (tú).

The pronoun te goes before the verb in a negative command.

3. It is cold outside. Tell a friend not to go out without a coat (tú).

Salir changes to salgas: no salgas.

4. You can carry the bag yourself. Say “Don’t bother, I’ll do it” (tú).

No te molestes can politely tell someone they need not go to the trouble.

5. Tell a friend not to leave their things lying around (tú).

Dejar takes -es for tú: dejes.

6. Tell a friend not to arrive home late (tú).

Llegues uses gu to keep the sound of g before e.

7. Dinner is ready. Tell a friend not to use their phone at the table (tú).

Use uses, not the indicative usas or affirmative usa.

8. Your friend wants a sixth identical hat. Say “Don’t spend all your money” (tú).

Gastar → no gastes. Five hats may already be enough.

9. Ask a friend not to leave the door open when leaving (tú).

No dejes gives the instruction; keep abierta and al salir.

10. Ask a friend not to go anywhere without letting you know (tú).

Ir has the irregular negative form vayas.
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Answers and explanations: exercise 1
  1. No grites en la biblioteca. — Use grites for a negative command to tú. Gritas describes an action.
  2. No te preocupes. — The pronoun te goes before the verb in a negative command.
  3. No salgas sin abrigo. — Salir changes to salgas: no salgas.
  4. No te molestes, yo lo hago. — No te molestes can politely tell someone they need not go to the trouble.
  5. No dejes tus cosas tiradas. — Dejar takes -es for tú: dejes.
  6. No llegues tarde a casa. — Llegues uses gu to keep the sound of g before e.
  7. No uses el teléfono durante la cena. — Use uses, not the indicative usas or affirmative usa.
  8. No gastes todo tu dinero. — Gastar → no gastes. Five hats may already be enough.
  9. No dejes la puerta abierta al salir. — No dejes gives the instruction; keep abierta and al salir.
  10. No vayas a ningún lugar sin avisar. — Ir has the irregular negative form vayas.

Exercise 2 · Choose the verb form

SpanishUnicorn
A2–B110 questionsStep 2 of 3

Choose the missing verb form. No and any pronouns already shown stay in the sentence.

0 / 1010 questions

1. No ___ hacer tus deberes. (tú, olvidar)

Tú: no olvides. Don’t forget to do your homework.

2. No ___ demasiado chocolate antes de cenar. (tú, comer)

Comer → no comas. Don’t eat too much chocolate before dinner.

3. No ___ aquí; este espacio es para la firma. (usted, escribir)

For usted, use escriba. Escribas is tú.

4. No ___ tan rápido, por favor. (vosotros, hablar)

Vosotros: no habléis. Hablen belongs to ustedes.

5. No ___ la puerta abierta, por favor. (ustedes, dejar)

Ustedes: no dejen.

6. No ___ toda la tarde dentro de casa. (nosotros, estar)

No estemos means let’s not be; it includes the speaker.

7. No ___ las llaves al gato. (tú, dar)

Tú: no des, without an accent. Dé is usted.

8. No ___ ruido; el bebé duerme. (tú, hacer)

Hacer → no hagas. Don’t just put no before haz.

9. No ___ miedo de preguntar. (usted, tener)

Usted: no tenga. Don’t be afraid to ask.

10. No ___ antes de las diez. (ustedes, venir)

Ustedes: no vengan. Vengáis is vosotros.
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Answers and explanations: exercise 2
  1. olvides — Tú: no olvides. Don’t forget to do your homework.
  2. comas — Comer → no comas. Don’t eat too much chocolate before dinner.
  3. escriba — For usted, use escriba. Escribas is tú.
  4. habléis — Vosotros: no habléis. Hablen belongs to ustedes.
  5. dejen — Ustedes: no dejen.
  6. estemos — No estemos means let’s not be; it includes the speaker.
  7. des — Tú: no des, without an accent. Dé is usted.
  8. hagas — Hacer → no hagas. Don’t just put no before haz.
  9. tenga — Usted: no tenga. Don’t be afraid to ask.
  10. vengan — Ustedes: no vengan. Vengáis is vosotros.

Exercise 3 · Keep the pronouns in front

SpanishUnicorn
A2–B110 questionsStep 3 of 3

Choose the Spanish sentence that matches the meaning and person. There is one correct answer.

0 / 1010 questions

1. Don’t stay awake so late. (tú, quedarse)

Te comes before quedes in a negative command.

2. Don’t forget to study. (tú, olvidarse)

Olvidarse de: keep te before olvides and keep de.

3. Don’t focus only on what is missing. (tú, centrarse)

No + te + centres. The pronoun is separate.

4. Don’t tell me the ending. (tú, decir)

Dime becomes no me digas.

5. Don’t put on my coat. (tú, ponerse)

Ponte becomes no te pongas.

6. Don’t give it to me. The object is el libro. (tú)

Keep the order me + lo and put both before des.

7. Don’t worry. Address two guests as ustedes.

Ustedes uses se preocupen. Os preocupéis is vosotros.

8. Don’t doubt your ability. (tú, dudar)

Dudar → no dudes. The preposition de stays.

9. Don’t ignore the small joys in your life. (tú, ignorar)

Tú: no ignores.

10. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes. (tú, olvidar)

Tú: no olvides. Celebrar stays in the infinitive.
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Answers and explanations: exercise 3
  1. No te quedes despierto hasta tan tarde. — Te comes before quedes in a negative command.
  2. No te olvides de estudiar. — Olvidarse de: keep te before olvides and keep de.
  3. No te centres solo en lo que falta. — No + te + centres. The pronoun is separate.
  4. No me digas el final. — Dime becomes no me digas.
  5. No te pongas mi abrigo. — Ponte becomes no te pongas.
  6. No me lo des. — Keep the order me + lo and put both before des.
  7. No se preocupen. — Ustedes uses se preocupen. Os preocupéis is vosotros.
  8. No dudes de tu capacidad. — Dudar → no dudes. The preposition de stays.
  9. No ignores las pequeñas alegrías de tu vida. — Tú: no ignores.
  10. No olvides celebrar tus éxitos. — Tú: no olvides. Celebrar stays in the infinitive.

Optional reading: encouragement, not just prohibitions

The original practice also used encouraging phrases. Here are a few worth keeping. Longer sentences with que contain an extra clause: do not treat every verb in them as a command.

  • No dejes de soñar en grande. — Don’t stop dreaming big.
  • No dudes en ser tú mismo. — Don’t hesitate to be yourself.
  • No te olvides de valorar las pequeñas cosas. — Don’t forget to appreciate the little things.
  • No permitas que los obstáculos te desanimen. — Don’t let obstacles discourage you.
  • No menosprecies el impacto positivo que puedes tener en los demás. — Don’t underestimate the positive impact you can have on others.

For teachers: advice cards without printing

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