Spanish
Grade 6
15 min
Cultura Empresarial: Understanding Business Etiquette
Explore the cultural nuances of business etiquette in Spanish-speaking countries.
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1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Form regular affirmative informal commands for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.
Identify and correctly use the 8 common irregular affirmative informal commands.
Form negative informal commands for all verb types.
Correctly attach direct object pronouns to affirmative commands, including adding accent marks.
Correctly place direct object pronouns before the verb in negative commands.
Apply informal commands to give friendly advice in a simulated business or office setting.
Imagine you're helping a new intern at your future job. How would you tell them to 'answer the phone' in Spanish? 📞
In this lesson, we'll learn how to give friendly instructions and advice to colleagues using 'mandatos informales' (informal commands). This is a ke...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
Mandato Informal (Tú Command)A command used to give an order or advice to someone you know well, like a friend, family member, or close colleague.¡Habla con el cliente! (Speak with the client!)
Mandato AfirmativoA 'do' command that tells someone to perform an action.¡Prepara la presentación! (Prepare the presentation!)
Mandato NegativoA 'don't' command that tells someone not to perform an action.¡No llegues tarde! (Don't arrive late!)
Verbo IrregularA verb that does not follow a standard conjugation pattern for commands.Hacer -> ¡Haz! (To do/make -> Do/Make!)
Pronombre de Objeto DirectoA word like 'lo', 'la', 'los', or 'las' that replaces a noun receiving the action.In '¡Escribe el infor...
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Grammar Rules & Patterns
Forming Regular Affirmative Tú Commands
Use the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) form of the present tense.
For most verbs, to tell a friend to do something, you just conjugate the verb as if you were talking about 'he' or 'she'. For example, for 'hablar', the 'él' form is 'habla', so the command is '¡Habla!'.
Forming Negative Tú Commands
1. Start with the 'yo' form. 2. Drop the '-o'. 3. Add the opposite ending: '-es' for -ar verbs, '-as' for -er/-ir verbs. 4. Put 'no' in front.
For 'hablar', the 'yo' form is 'hablo'. Drop the '-o' to get 'habl-'. Since it's an -ar verb, add '-es' to get 'habl...
4 more steps in this tutorial
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Sign Up Free to ContinueSample Practice Questions
Challenging
A project requires two steps: 1. Make the calls ('las llamadas'). 2. Send the reports ('los informes'). How would you tell a close colleague to do these two things using commands and pronouns?
A.¡Haces las y envíalos!
B.¡Hazlas y envíalos!
C.¡Las haz y los envía!
D.¡Hacerlas y enviarlos!
Challenging
Your coworker writes '¡Escríbelo!' to refer to 'la carta' (the letter). While '¡Escríbelo!' is a grammatically correct command, what is the specific error in this context?
A.The direct object pronoun 'lo' does not agree in gender with the feminine noun 'la carta'.
B.The accent mark is on the wrong syllable.
C.The verb 'escribir' should be irregular in the command form.
D.The command should be negative, not affirmative.
Challenging
In a stressful situation, you need to tell your friend to 'tell the truth' ('la verdad'). How do you correctly say 'Tell it!' using the irregular verb 'decir'?
A.¡Decirla!
B.¡Dicela!
C.¡Dila!
D.¡Díla!
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