familiar sg imperative

The Familiar Imperative in Brazilian Portuguese

In Brazilian Portuguese, the familiar imperative is used in everyday spoken language and informal writing to give commands, make requests, or offer advice to a single person.

1. Affirmative Forms (Regular Verbs)

Forming the familiar affirmative imperative is very simple: the verb takes the exact same form as the third-person singular (ele/ela/você) of the Present Indicative.

• -AR Verbs: falar → ele fala → Fala! (Speak! / Talk!)
• -ER Verbs: comer → ele come → Come! (Eat!)
• -IR Verbs: abrir → ele abre → Abre! (Open!)

This rule perfectly applies to regular verbs that have stem-vowel changes (like e → i or o → u in the root):

• dormir → ele dorme → Dorme um pouco. (Get some sleep.)
• pedir → ele pede → Pede ajuda. (Ask for help.)

Exceptions: The verbs ser (to be) and estar (to be) are the only exceptions. They do not use the familiar form; instead, they use their formal imperative forms: seja and esteja.

2. Placement of Object Pronouns

In informal Brazilian speech and writing, unstressed object pronouns are placed immediately before the verb, rather than being attached to the end with a hyphen (which is the formal rule).

• Me dá o seu e-mail. (Give me your e-mail address.)
• Te cuida. (Take care of yourself.)

3. The Colloquial Negative Imperative

In formal Portuguese, negative commands require the present subjunctive form. However, in very colloquial spoken Brazilian Portuguese, speakers often simply place the word não directly in front of the familiar affirmative form.

• Não fica pegando no meu pé. (Don't keep going on at me.)
• Não esquece de comprar leite. (Don't forget to buy milk.)
• Não chora! (Don't cry!)