What Are Nosotros Commands in Spanish?

You probably already know a very common nosotros command: ¡Vamos! (let’s go!). 

Nosotros commands correspond to the English “let’s,” such as in “let’s eat!” or “let’s not drink!”.

However, while English simply uses let’s + the verb, in Spanish, the construction is a bit more complicated. 

In this guide, we are going to learn nosotros commands, when to use them, how to form their positive and negative variations, and exceptions.  ¡Vamos! 

When to Use Nosotros Commands in Spanish

Nosotros commands are used in several situations and can either be positive or negative. Positive commands typically suggest or encourage group actions, whereas negative ones are used to prevent or avoid them. 

Positive Nosotros Commands	Negative Nosotros Commands
Used to suggest, encourage, or plan group actions.	Used to warn, prevent mistakes, or set restrictions for the group.
Hablemos con el director para aclarar las dudas. (Let’s talk to the principal to clarify the doubts.)	No hablemos sin tener toda la información. (Let’s not talk without having all the information.)
Reservemos un lugar para la próxima reunión. (Let’s book a place for the next meeting.)	No reservemos sin consultar antes con el grupo. (Let’s not book without consulting the group first.)
Gastemos solo lo necesario para este proyecto. (Let’s spend only what’s necessary for this project.)	No gastemos demasiado tiempo en cosas poco importantes. (Let’s not spend too much time on unimportant things.)

How to Form Regular Nosotros Commands in Spanish

To use nosotros commands, it’s essential to learn to know how to conjugate verbs in the subjunctive “we” form. If you are interested in learning the complete subjunctive conjugation, check out our article about Negative Commands in Spanish. There you can learn all the subjunctive endings and how to use them effectively. 

Steps to Form Nosotros Commands

Step 1.  Take the yo form of the verb in the present indicative (e.g., tengo for tener).

Step 2. Drop the -o ending to find the stem (e.g., teng- for tener) 

Step 3. Add the appropriate ending:

• For -ar verbs: -emos (e.g., hablemos).
• For -er and -ir verbs: -amos (e.g., tengamos, vivamos).

And for negative commands only:

Step 4. Add “no” before the verb.

Example: No tengamos miedo. (Let’s not be afraid.)

Stem-Changing Verbs and Nosotros Commands

As you might have read in our article about stem-changing verbs, these verbs change their stem in the yo, tu, él/ella, and ellos/ellas forms only, while the nosotros and vosotros forms usually keep their regular stem. 

In the subjunctive mood:

•  -ar and -er stem-changing verbs also keep their regular stem in the nosotros and vosotros forms. 
•  -ir verbs undergo a stem change in both the nosotros and vosotros forms. In these forms specifically, the changes are: 

o → u (e.g., dormir → durmamos)

e → i (e.g., pedir → pidamos).

Let’s see a few examples of the most common stem-changing verbs in -ar,-er,-ir. 

Infinitive	Meaning	Stem Change	Nosotros Form in Subjunctive
-ar Verbs
cerrar	to close	No change	cerremos
contar	to count	No change	contemos
empezar	to begin	No change	empecemos
jugar	to play	No change	juguemos
pensar	to think	No change	pensemos
-er Verbs
entender	to understand	No change	entendamos
volver	to return	No change	volvamos
perder	to lose	No change	perdamos
poder	to be able to	No change	podamos
querer	to want	No change	queramos
-ir Verbs
dormir	to sleep	o → ue → u	durmamos
morir	to die	o → ue → u	muramos
pedir	to ask for	e → i	pidamos
preferir	to prefer	e → ie → i	prefiramos
sentir	to feel	e → ie → i	sintamos

Irregular Verbs in Nosotros Commands

Apart from stem-changing verbs, there are a few more irregularities that you will encounter during your Spanish-learning journey. Let’s look at more irregular verbs for better understanding.

1. Verbs ending with -car, -gar, and -zar change to maintain the pronunciation.

Verb	Meaning	Negative Command	Translation
Sacar	To take out	(No) saquemos	Let’s (not) take out
Llegar	To arrive	(No) lleguemos	Let’s (not) arrive
Empezar	To begin/start	(No) empecemos	Let’s (not) begin/start

2. Verbs with irregular yo form.

Verb	Meaning	Command	Translation
Hacer (yo hago)	To do/make	(No) hagamos	Let’s (not) do/make
Poner (yo pongo)	To put	(No) pongamos	Let’s (not) put
Tener (yo tengo)	To have	(No) tengamos	Let’s (not) have
Salir (yo salgo)	To leave	(No) salgamos	Let’s (not) leave
Venir (yo vengo)	To come	(No) vengamos	Let’s (not) come
Decir (yo digo)	To say	(No) digamos	Let’s (not) say

3. The verb ir is unique since it has the positive command ¡Vamos! is irregular and differs from the negative command. 

Verb	Meaning	Positive Command	Negative Command	Translation
Ir	To go	Vamos	No vayamos	Let’s (not) go

4. Other irregular verbs have unique nosotros commands.

Verb	Meaning	Command	Translation
Ser	To be	(No) seamos	Let’s (not) be
Estar	To be	(No) estemos	Let’s (not) be
Saber	To know	(No) sepamos	Let’s (not) know
Dar	To give	(No) demos	Let’s (not) give

Use of Ir + Infinitive for Nosotros Commands

Sometimes commands feel bossy. We can adopt the use of less authoritative commands. We can use the Ir + infinitive for gentle commands. It is common in routine conversations.

Example: Vamos a estudiar means “Let’s study.”

It’s less commanding than directly saying Estudiemos.

How To Soften Commands With “vamos a + infinitive”

Vamos softens out a command that sometimes feels too demanding. We can use ‘vamos a + infinitive’ to make the same command sound more like a suggestion.

Example: Trabajemos juntos (Let’s work together)

Instead of this you can say Vamos a trabajar juntos (Let’s work together)

Both have the same meaning, but when we use any command with ‘vamos a + infinitive’, it sounds more friendly and casual. 

Pronoun Placement in Nosotros Commands

In more complex sentences, you may need to add pronouns to Nosotros commands.

Add Pronouns To The Subjunctive Form

Follow these simple steps when adding pronouns to the subjunctive form of a Nosotoros command.

1. Take a present subjunctive Nosotors command verb

2 . Remove the -s, which ends the verb.

3  Add whatever pronoun to the end of the new word you got after deleting -s from the verb.

4. Add an accent symbol to balance the second to last syllable.

Let’s follow an example with the steps mentioned.

1. Get the subjunctive Nosotros form of the verb.

Sentemos.( “Let’s sit.”)

2. Remove the final -s from the verb we have.

Sentemo.

3. Now, add the pronoun ‘nos’ to show it is for ‘us.’

Sentemonos.

4. Let’s add an accent on the second to last syllable so the pronunciation is correct.

Sentémonos.(Let’s sit down).

Add Pronouns To The Vamos a + Infinitive Form

Adding pronouns in the Vamos a + Infinitive form is easier. You just add the pronoun to the end of the infinitive form of the verb in the command.

Examples.

1. Vamos a comer (nosotros). Let’s eat (we).
2. Vamos a practicarlo (lo).Let’s practice it (it = lo).
3. Vamos a ayudarnos (nos).Let’s help each other (us = nos).

In vamos a + infinitive, the pronouns can sometimes attach to the infinitive verb (practicarlo, ayudarnos), or refer to the subject (nosotros).

Conclusion

You can find that in the initial phases of learning Spanish, it is tricky to grasp the actual workings of Nosotros commands. When you practice speaking and listening to Spanish spoken by real characters in any Netflix series, you gain confidence in learning Nosotros commands.

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Jolli has an easy user interface that lets you stay consistent with your learning by creating highly customized lessons from the videos you imported. Let’s start learning Nosotros commands with the Jolii app. Download it Now.

FAQs

Q: Do all Nosotros Commands use the subjunctive?

A: There is only one exception which is the positive command  ¡Vamos!. Vamos uses the indicative of the verb ir (to go). 

Q: What’s the difference between “vamos” and “vayamos”?

A: Vamos is a positive command and no vayamos is a negative one. Ir is the only verb in which positive and negative commands differ.

Q: Can you form Nosotros Commands without a verb?

A: No, the structure is composed of a verb, so there is no way to omit it.