Commands with 请, 吧, 不要 and Negation with 不, 没

Pattern

(请) + verb; verb + 吧; 不要/别 + verb; 不 + verb/adjective; 没(有) + verb (past) / 没有 + noun

Tell someone not to do something with 不要 or 别; use 不 for now and habits, 没 for what didn’t happen.

上课的时候不要玩手机。

When to use Commands with 请, 吧, 不要 and Negation with 不, 没

A command is usually just the verb phrase, with or without 你/你们: 坐！, 你们看这儿. Put 请 in front to make it polite (请坐), or 吧 at the end to make it a suggestion (我们走吧). To tell someone not to do something, use 不要 or 别 before the verb: 不要说话！ Plain 不 can’t do this: 不说话 means “not talking”, not “don’t talk”.

请进，请坐。

Come in, please, and have a seat.

大家看这儿。

Everyone, look here.

我们一起去吧。

Let’s go together.

我不喝咖啡。

I don’t drink coffee. (a habit)

Common traps

For something that didn’t happen, say 我昨天没去, not 我昨天不去.
Say 我没有钱, never 我不有钱: 有 is only negated with 没.
To tell someone not to do something, say 不要说话！ or 别说话！, not 不说话！

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

坐

Please sit down. Make a polite request

qǐng

Meanings

please (before a request)

Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

When to use Commands with 请, 吧, 不要 and Negation with 不, 没

Common traps

Targeted drill

Keep this pattern in review.