Complete Spanish

Track 85

1. Commands for the go verbs Rule

Formal and plural commands use the -ga form, exactly as the mood tense rule predicts.

Salga · Salgan · No salgan · Póngalo aquí · No lo ponga aquí · Téngalo

And the positive ones still put the little word on the end: póngalo, téngalo.

2. The informal shortcut: drop the -go Rule

Regular verbs drop the s from the informal you form. These verbs have their own shortcut: drop the -go entirely.

tengo → ten  ·  vengo → ven  ·  salgo → sal  ·  digo → di

Tenlo · Ven · Sal · Dime

dígame
tell me, formally
dime
tell me, informally

Both are what you hear when people answer the phone, in Spain and elsewhere, which makes the pair easy to remember.

3. venga has drifted away from formality Note

The venga you hear in Spain meaning come on is not really functioning as a formal command any more: it has become a fixed expression.

venga, venga
come on, come on
ven
come, physically

4. Recap of the regular shortcut Rule

Worth holding the two side by side, since they differ.

comes → come · encuentras → encuéntralo

tengo → ten · digo → di

5. Commands plus cuando Grammar

Combining a command with a future cuando puts two different mechanisms in one short sentence.

Dime cuando vengas · Dígame cuando lo haga

The command uses its shortcut or its -ga form, and cuando takes the mood tense because it refers to the future.

6. Two rules, one group Overview

Everything in this track follows from knowing a verb is a -go verb.