Spanish Commands Practice Quiz
Practice formal commands and boost Spanish confidence
This Spanish formal commands quiz helps you practice forming usted and ustedes commands, affirmative and negative, with correct pronoun placement. Answer 20 quick questions to check your skills and spot gaps before your next Spanish test. Perfect for high school Spanish and fast review.
Study Outcomes
- Understand the formation of formal Spanish command structures.
- Apply correct conjugation rules for formal commands in context.
- Analyze the placement of pronouns in formal command sentences.
- Differentiate between formal and informal command uses.
- Synthesize quiz feedback to improve command accuracy for tests.
Spanish Formal Commands Practice Cheat Sheet
- Understand the Formation of Formal Commands - Turning a regular verb into a formal command is like cooking your favorite recipe: start with the yo form, drop the "-o," then add "-e(n)" for - ar verbs or "-a(n)" for - er/ - ir verbs. Voilà! Hablar becomes hable (usted) and hablen (ustedes). Practice this simple formula until it feels like second nature.
- Recognize Irregular Formal Commands - Some verbs rebel against the rules, so you need to memorize their unique command forms. For example, ir becomes vaya/vayan and ser switches to sea/sean. Treat these irregulars like special VIPs and give them extra attention in your study sessions!
- Apply Spelling Changes for Certain Verbs - To keep pronunciation on point, verbs ending in - car, - gar, and - zar tweak their spelling in commands. Buscar turns into busque, pagar becomes pague, and empezar shifts to empiece. Think of it as giving your verbs a little costume change for the formal stage.
- Use Pronouns Correctly with Commands - In affirmative commands, attach object pronouns right onto the verb end: "Llévelo" means "Take it." But for negative commands, the pronoun hops in front: "No lo lleve." This two-step dance keeps your commands crystal clear.
- Practice Negative Formal Commands - Forming negative commands is as easy as adding "no" before the affirmative form: hable → no hable. Use this trick whenever you need to politely tell someone what not to do - no stress, just practice!
- Understand Commands with Reflexive Verbs - Reflexive verbs love attaching their pronouns to affirmative commands (Lávese means "Wash yourself") and placing them before negative ones (No se lave). Mastering this will make you sound like a grammar superhero.
- Learn Commands with Object Pronouns - Stack object pronouns on affirmative commands - Dígamelo ("Tell it to me") - but move them in front for negatives - No me lo diga. It's like building a tiny pronoun tower on your verb!
- Recognize Impersonal Commands - Signs and warnings often use the infinitive form for impersonal commands, such as No fumar (No smoking) or No entrar (No entry). These are everywhere, so bingo - instant practice in real life!
- Practice Commands with Stem‑Changing Verbs - Don't let stem changers catch you off guard: cerrar becomes cierre/cierren, dormir turns into duerma/duerman, and so on. Keep a mini-list of common stem‑changers handy and quiz yourself daily.
- Use Commands in Context - The best way to cement your skills is to use commands in real conversations: give a polite instruction to a friend or write a quick mini-dialogue. Contextual practice turns theory into natural flair!
