CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Turn a description into affirmative tú instructions with the intended actions.
- Reconstruct a useful instruction order from the task’s constraints.
- Keep a permission or option distinct from a direct instruction.
Before you start
- Know the regular present, basic questions and noun agreement. Use the linked lessons for the forms needed here.
- Use familiar present forms; any past question in this page can use the already studied preterite or perfect.
The idea
A present statement reports what someone does: “Tú preparas la mesa”. An affirmative imperative addresses them with an instruction: “Prepara la mesa”. A form can resemble another person’s present, but the addressed listener and the purpose of the exchange determine its function. For regular tú commands, use the third-person singular present form: prepara, bebe, escribe. Frequent irregulars include di, haz, pon, sal, ven, ten, ve and sé. Learn these as command forms rather than dropping letters at random. This page practises affirmative instructions to one person explicitly addressed as tú.
The command’s order must serve the task. A grammatical sentence can still direct the listener to do the wrong action, act on the wrong object or perform a step before its prerequisite. Read the intended result before you convert the verbs.
A permission with puedes plus infinitive allows an action; a direct instruction asks for it. They are both grammatical but they do not make the same request. Voseo, usted, ustedes and vosotros have valid forms elsewhere; they are not errors, but do not replace the specified tú addressee in these tasks. Negative commands and command pronouns are outside this page.
Reference: form and meaning
| Infinitive family or item | Affirmative tú form | Example with a named object |
|---|---|---|
| regular -ar: guardar | guarda | Guarda el dibujo. |
| regular -er: leer | lee | Lee la nota. |
| regular -ir: abrir | abre | Abre la caja. |
| hacer / poner / decir | haz / pon / di | Haz la tarea. / Pon la mesa. / Di la fecha. |
| salir / venir / tener | sal / ven / ten | Sal por aquí. / Ven a casa. / Ten paciencia. |
| ir / ser | ve / sé | Ve a clase. / Sé amable. |
These are affirmative tú forms. The table is a reference; the context still decides the object, intended act and order.
How it sounds
- Abre la caja. / Marta abre la caja cada mañana.The direct address to a tú listener supports an instruction. The named third-person subject and routine marker make the note a report. The shared written form abre does not fix the person or speech act without context. The first sentence asks the listener to open the box; the second reports Marta’s repeated action and does not instruct her.
Transfer 1A different case
P1. One tú listener must send a message with the correct address. P2. The address is already printed on a note; sending before checking it risks using an old address. P3. A draft says «Tú envías el mensaje. Después, tú lees la dirección». Rewrite it as two direct affirmative tú instructions using leer and enviar, in a useful order.
P1. One tú listener has to put an order form into a folder. P2. The folder is collected at 12:00 and nothing inside can be changed after it is filed; a form without a date is rejected. P3. A draft reports «Guardas el formulario. Luego escribes la fecha». Turn it into two affirmative tú instructions with escribir and guardar, in an order that avoids a rejected form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Lee la dirección. Después, envía el mensaje.
Model answer: Lee la dirección. Después, envía el mensaje.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Uses direct affirmative tú forms for both verbs.
- Checks the address before sending and preserves the two objects.
The message needs direct commands, and reading the current address must precede sending. Envía retains the written accent.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Escribe la fecha. Luego, guarda el formulario en la carpeta.
Model answer: Escribe la fecha. Luego, guarda el formulario en la carpeta.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Uses affirmative tú commands (escribe, guarda).
- Puts the date before filing because the case makes later changes impossible.
A filed form can no longer be changed, so the date has to be written before filing. The draft describes; the task needs direct instructions.
Transfer 2A different case
P1. Your flatmate (tú) is cooking for six people tonight. P2. The recipe needs three eggs and is on page 12 of a book on the kitchen table; there are only two eggs in the fridge, and the shop on the corner closes at 20:00. P3. Write three affirmative tú instructions in a useful order so that dinner is possible. Choose the verbs yourself; use at least one irregular form from the table.
P1. Your friend (tú) has a job interview tomorrow at 9:00 in an office she does not know. P2. The invitation email gives the address and says she has to bring an identity document; she has not checked the route. P3. Write three affirmative tú instructions in a useful order. Choose the verbs yourself; use at least one irregular form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Ve a la tienda antes de las ocho y compra un huevo. Lee la receta de la página 12. Haz la cena.
Model answer: Ve a la tienda antes de las ocho y compra un huevo. Lee la receta de la página 12. Haz la cena.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Uses at least three correct affirmative tú forms, including one irregular (ve, sal, haz, pon…).
- Deduces the missing egg and places the shop before 20:00 and before cooking; the recipe step comes before cooking.
One more egg is needed and the shop closes at 20:00, so getting it comes first; reading the recipe and cooking follow. Irregular forms such as ve, sal or haz fit naturally.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Lee la dirección en el correo. Pon el documento de identidad en el bolso. Sal de casa temprano para llegar antes de las nueve.
Model answer: Lee la dirección en el correo. Pon el documento de identidad en el bolso. Sal de casa temprano para llegar antes de las nueve.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Uses three correct affirmative tú forms, including one irregular (pon, sal, ve…); DNI, cédula or identificación are accepted.
- Orders the steps so that the address and the document are ready before she leaves.
She needs the address before planning the route, the document in her bag before leaving, and enough time to arrive before 9:00.
Transfer 3A different case
P1. A host says «Puedes entrar ahora». P2. The visitor is still choosing whether to enter. P3. A colleague turns the message into «Entra ahora» and calls it the same permission. In English, state the change in intention. Write a Spanish message that keeps entering optional and also gives a direct affirmative tú instruction to read the notice, using leer.
P1. A workshop allows drawing: «Puedes dibujar aquí». P2. A draft replaces it with «Dibuja aquí» and treats it as unchanged. P3. Explain the intention change in English. Write Spanish that keeps drawing optional but directly instructs the tú listener to put the pencil on the table, using poner.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: The second message instructs rather than merely permits. Puedes entrar ahora. Lee el aviso.
Model answer: The second message instructs rather than merely permits. Puedes entrar ahora. Lee el aviso.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Distinguishes permission from instruction in the comment.
- Keeps entering optional and gives a direct tú command for reading.
The infinitive after puedes allows the action; the imperative asks for it. The repair keeps entry optional but makes reading an instruction.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Permission has become an instruction. Puedes dibujar aquí. Pon el lápiz en la mesa.
Model answer: Permission has become an instruction. Puedes dibujar aquí. Pon el lápiz en la mesa.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Identifies the shift from permission to instruction.
- Keeps drawing optional and directly instructs placement of the pencil.
The replacement increases the directive force; keeping puedes restores permission, and pon supplies the separate requested instruction.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Tú haces la lista.
Right Haz la lista.
For the intended direct tú instruction, use haz. The first sentence is grammatical as a statement; it is not the requested imperative.
Transfer 4: combine the distinctions
P1. You leave a note for your younger brother (tú), who is preparing a birthday invitation for Leo. P2. Leo’s address is only in Mum’s message; the invitation must be in the post box before 17:00; the stamps are in the kitchen drawer; a drawing on the card is welcome but not needed. P3. Write the note in Spanish: the instructions he needs, in a useful order, and one sentence that keeps the drawing optional.
Answer available without interaction
- Uses affirmative tú commands, including at least one irregular form (haz, pon, ve…).
- Respects the dependencies: address before the envelope, stamp before posting, posting before 17:00; sello, estampilla and timbre are all valid for the stamp.
- Keeps the drawing as a permission or option, not as an instruction.
Answer: Lee el mensaje de mamá y escribe la dirección de Leo en el sobre. Haz la invitación y pon un sello. Ve al buzón antes de las cinco. Puedes hacer un dibujo, si quieres.
The address has to be found before the envelope is written, the stamp has to be on before posting, and the deadline fixes the last step. The drawing stays a permission with puedes plus infinitive.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- PCIC §9.3, A2 column: affirmative imperative and instruction value. The split into A2.1 and the sequence of tasks are editorial. · Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes: Gramática, inventario A1-A2
Continue along this corridor
Practise this: “Quiero”, “puedo”, “duermo”: verbs that change insideThe present tense: three endings to start speakingEssential irregular present forms for A1