Nosotros Commands: Let's... (hablemos, comamos)

Spanish: El imperativo de nosotros: ¡Hablemos!

Level: B1 Intermediate

Category: commands

Explanation

The nosotros command is used to make suggestions or proposals that include the speaker. In English it corresponds to "Let's..." (¡Comamos! = Let's eat!). It is a very useful way to invite others to do something together. To form this command, we take the nosotros form of the present subjunctive. For -ar verbs, the ending is -emos (hablar → hablemos). For -er and -ir verbs, the ending is -amos (comer → comamos, vivir → vivamos). This same form is used for both affirmative and negative commands. In the negative command, we simply add "no" before the verb: No hablemos, No comamos. Reflexive and object pronouns are attached to the end of the affirmative verb, and placed before the negative verb: Sentémonos (Let's sit down) vs. No nos sentemos. There is a very common alternative in everyday speech: "vamos a + infinitive" (Vamos a comer = Let's eat). This form is more colloquial and is used very frequently, especially for affirmative proposals.

Examples

• ¡Comamos algo en la cafetería antes de seguir! - Let's eat something in the café before continuing!
• Pidamos dos cafés con leche, por favor. - Let's order two coffees with milk, please.
• Sentémonos cerca de la ventana. - Let's sit near the window.
• No esperemos más, la cola es muy larga. - Let's not wait any longer, the line is very long.
• Compremos las entradas para el museo ahora. - Let's buy the museum tickets now.