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- "¡No lo hagas!"
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Yes, it could, depending on context; the usual context in which we hear it, though, is that of "don't do it!"
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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 ;-)
Speaking as a native English speaker, I'd say that either work, but the lack of a contraction—that is, using "do not"—sounds stronger to me because it is more formal, jellylava. Perhaps you are imagining that saying it faster—three syllables instead of four—conveys more urgency and thus more emphatic. Either way, tone of voice is what indicates the strength of this particular command: "Don't do it!" or "Do not do it!"
If no exclamation mark (!) is used, then the command becomes a request. For example, a mother might calmly say to her child "Do not do it." Equally, she could "Don't do it" with a period (.) at the end of the sentence. Either way, the important thing is that the emphasis doesn't come from the contraction (don't), but rather from the tone of voice.
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Thanks, Linda_from_NJ. I think that what I am imagining is the voice of my mother in my head and her tone of voice did indeed indicate the strength of her will. lol I am a native English speaker as well.
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!" (?)
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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?
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.
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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.
You are speaking only of the negative command mood of the second person singular familiar tense, right? I don't know if I am merely confused here, or if I just don't have good enough translating skills to imagine if these rules apply to the formal "usted" singular or to the familiar "vosotros/as." Could anyone please elaborate or post some other examples?
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tu - positive commands have their own form, often equal to the usted present indicative conjugation (there are several irregular verbs, many of which are verbs that end in "go" for their yo conjugation; for these verbs you normally drop the "go" from the yo conjugation to get the tu command: venir {vengo} = ven; salir {salgo} = sal; hacer {hago} = haz {note the extra "z"} ); negative commands have the same conjugation as the tu subjunctive.
usted - positive & negative command forms are the same as the usted subjunctive.
Nosotros - positive & negative commands equal to the nosotros subjunctive; "Vamos a" is also considered a command form for positive commands only.
ustedes - positive & negative commands equal to the ustedes subjunctive conjugation.
vosotros - for positive commands, replace the "r" in the infinitive with a "d"; "ir" is irregular (idos); negative commands are the same as the vosotros subjunctive conjugation
If you ever get confused in real life, there other ways to give "commands" where you'll always use the subjunctive, or even the infinitive:
"Que tengas un buen día!" = "Have a nice day!"
"Tienes que sacar la basura!" = "You have to take out the trash!"
I was told that this sentence is correct but you might hear from a parent talking to their child saying eso no se hace
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! :)
In English, "it" is a direct object pronoun, and "that" is a demonstrative pronoun. While "it" and "that" essentially mean "one thing," these pronouns have slightly different syntactical functions, with "it" being the most generic noun substitute and "that" being a noun substitute that also pinpoints location.
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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. :)
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!"?
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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.
