Una duda sobre infinitives in commands

AC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Una duda sobre infinitives in commands

Apologies, as this is a bit outside the lesson. Can the infinitive ever stand alone as a command in Spanish (without the a + form) in either the negative or positive? I was under the impression that it could, but I don’t specifically remember learning to do so, and I might be transferring from another language I’ve studied. Thanks!

Asked 3 years ago
MarshaC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Yep. You can say. Apagar las luces and no fumar when directing a command to the general public. There is a lesson on this in the B2 grammar section. 

AC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks! I guess I just haven’t gotten that one yet.

A thought for the creators of this site: would it make sense to also link to the lesson on using infinitives as general commands, on the same page as this lesson, as a related topic?

I know you try to give us “just the right size” bites to not overwhelm us, and I have found that strategy super effective so far, but these two do seem very closely linked.

InmaKwiziq team member

Hola A,

here is the lesson Marsha mentioned. Have a look, and yes, it does make sense to link them so I just did that. 

Gracias y saludos,

Inma

Una duda sobre infinitives in commands

Apologies, as this is a bit outside the lesson. Can the infinitive ever stand alone as a command in Spanish (without the a + form) in either the negative or positive? I was under the impression that it could, but I don’t specifically remember learning to do so, and I might be transferring from another language I’ve studied. Thanks!

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