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- "¡No lo hagas!"
34 Comments
Yes, it could, depending on context; the usual context in which we hear it, though, is that of "don't do it!"
2115
Anyone know why "Don't you do it" would be wrong/disallowed? It seems the same as Do not do it but a little stronger.
If someone told me: "Don't you do it", I'd consider it more a warning and not a command, and i might still do it ;-)
Please someone explains me the difference between "No lo hagas!" and "no lo haga!". The imperative form for Usted is "haga", so why here is used "hagas"?
Because "hagas" is the imperative form for "tú", that is also 2nd person, singular, as "usted", just more informal.
I'm sorry I still don't understand. So how would you tell someone formally, "Don't do it!" (?)
- 2115
Yes, As far as I know this is often from a parent to a child and said in a warning tone of voice.
Normally we don't use the subject pronoun (you) in an imperative statement, but it can be used for emphasis. Be careful though if you use it on anyone who is not much younger than you and in your charge (eg parent to child) - it can sound very direct! For this reason, I don't know if Duo will accept it. :-)
So why is this subjunctive? If a indicative command is negative, then you use the subjunctive?
- 709
That is correct. This is because the negative always follows the template of a formal command rather than an informal command, and so is subjunctive. It kind of makes sense because you are making a request of someone to "not do something" rather than telling them "to do something", but maybe that is just how I remember this rule.
- 951
Note this is the negative imperative tense, not the subjunctive tense. It just so happens that the negative imperative tense has the same conjugations as the subjunctive tense.
I would say, in this context, that yes, they are equivalent. It's possible that "Don't do that" would have a slight nuance towards "Don't do that; do this instead" whereas "Don't do it" is pretty final. However, if Duo asks for "Don't do it", I've learnt to give it EXACTLY what it wants! :)
- 2115
I think it is just that Duo has not put the contraction into the computer. It is correct.
Although, there is an unwritten(?) convention in English that a contraction makes the sentence a little more casual and to hear your mother or a teacher say, 'Do not do it!' you might be more likely to think, Oh boy, I'm in trouble. :)
Have no probs with the tenses, major probs with what is considered or not considered to be a typo. Varies wildly. Computer rubbish, I suppose.
It is marked by the computer so has to follow a set of very specific rules - pretty difficult to program really. But, as I understand it, if the typo you put in forms another word then it is not counted as a typo, but as a mistake.
I was told that this sentence is correct but you might hear from a parent talking to their child saying eso no se hace
See http://www.spanishdict.com/conjugate/hacer and scroll down to the imperative.
[Tú] No lo hagas = [You] Don't do it. (one person)
[Ustedes] No lo hagan = [You] Don't do it -- more than one person. (You can think "y'all" whether anyone likes that or not.)
So as I understand it, "hagas" is the negative imperative conjugation for hacer directed at "tu".
If I were talking to someone in a position of authority (usted) would I say: "No lo haga usted!"?
And to a group of people: "No lo hagan!"?
- 2115
It doesn't seem to me to be a phrase to be used to a person in authority at all. It would show a lack of respect for a person you should respect otherwise you wouldn't be using usted or ustedes - or perhaps I am missing the point of those two forms of address.
Whereas the familiar voice is used with children, friends, and others of the same generation, the formal is generally used with those who are elders, teachers, professors, supervisors, bosses, and strangers – basically those with whom you are not on a first name basis, or even if they are younger and NOT in a position of authority or respect, those with whom you might want maintain some distance.
I doubt any disrespect would be inferred by any such persons if you were to say "¡No lo haga! / 'Don't do it!"if they were about to step off into a pit of vipers, a crocodile lair, or an open elevator shaft.
