hablar de: Present vs Imperative — Spanish Grammar Guide

Use the present to describe what someone does, to ask questions, and to give instructions in written form (recipes, manuals often use the present: "se añade sal" — add salt).

Signal words: ¿tú hablas?él hablainstructions in manualspresente históricotodos los días

Pronoun	Present
yo	hablo de
tú	hablas de
él/ella/Ud.	habla de
nosotros	hablamos de
vosotros	habláis de
ellos/ellas/Uds.	hablan de

Use the imperative for direct commands and requests. Affirmative tú commands use the third-person present singular. Negative tú commands use the present subjunctive.

Signal words: ¡habla!¡no hables!instructions to a personpor favor¡ven aquí!

Pronoun	Imperative
yo	-
tú	habla de
él/ella/Ud.	hable de
nosotros	hablemos de
vosotros	hablad de
ellos/ellas/Uds.	hablen de

Key contrast

"Hablas demasiado rápido" (present — you speak too fast, observation) vs "¡Habla más despacio!" (imperative — speak more slowly, command). The imperative tú form of regular -ar verbs equals the third-person present.

Present vs Imperative: common questions

How do I form affirmative tú commands in Spanish?

For most verbs, the affirmative tú imperative is identical to the third-person present singular: habla, come, escribe. There are 8 irregular forms: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.

Why does the negative command use a different form?

Negative tú commands use the present subjunctive: "no hables", "no comas", "no escribas". This applies to all verbs including the irregular ones — "no digas", "no hagas", "no vengas".

Can the present tense be used as a command?

Yes — in informal speech, the present tense can soften a command: "¿Me pasas la sal?" (you pass me the salt?) is more polite than "¡Pásame la sal!" It is also common in written instructions.

Practise both tenses with hablar de using spaced repetition.

Practice for free ↗ Full hablar de tables

Present

Imperative

Present vs Imperative: common questions

Other tense comparisons for hablar de