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Lesson 61B1

Nosotros Commands (Let's...)

Nosotros Commands (Let's...)

English's 'let's' is a fused shortcut for 'let us' tacked onto a bare verb. Spanish's nosotros command instead conjugates the verb itself — no separate 'let' word involved.

Grammar Comparison

Grammar Comparison

Subjunctive nosotros form = 'let's...'

Spanish

¡comamos! (let's eat!), ¡hablemos! (let's talk!) — the same subjunctive endings, now in the nosotros form

English

let's eat!, let's talk! — 'let's' plus the bare verb

Nosotros commands borrow the present subjunctive form of the verb for 'we' — comamos, hablemos — the exact same formation pattern you learned for formal commands and the subjunctive mood generally, just applied to a different person. There's no separate 'let' word to insert; the suggestion is built entirely into the verb ending.

Ir has its own special shortcut: vamos

Spanish

¡vamos! (let's go!) — uses the regular present tense, not vayamos

English

let's go! — the regular 'let's' pattern

Ir is the one common exception: while the subjunctive form vayamos does technically exist, everyday Spanish overwhelmingly prefers vamos (borrowed from the regular present tense) for 'let's go'. This is worth memorizing specifically, since it's one of the most frequent commands you'll actually use or hear.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

¡comamos!koh-MAH-mohs
English
let's eat!
¡hablemos!ah-BLEH-mohs
English
let's talk!
¡vamos!VAH-mohs
English
let's go!
¡empecemos!em-peh-SEH-mohs
English
let's start!
¡sentémonos!sen-TEH-moh-nohs
English
let's sit down!
¡no lo hagamos!noh loh ah-GAH-mohs
English
let's not do it!
¡vámonos!VAH-moh-nohs
English
let's get going! / let's leave!
¡celebremos!seh-leh-BREH-mohs
English
let's celebrate!
¡intentémoslo!een-ten-TEH-mohs-loh
English
let's try it!
¡descansemos!des-kahn-SEH-mohs
English
let's rest!