The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of Cenar is used to give direct orders or instructions related to having dinner, for example Cena la sopa antes de que se enfríe. (Have the soup before it gets cold.)

Cenar is a regular -ar verb, so its Imperative conjugations follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cenar (to have dinner) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Castilian Spanish):

Cenar generally means “to have dinner”, but has several different meanings in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands), some of which might surprise you.

Literal meaning: To eat the evening meal. For example, Cena la sopa. (Eat the soup for dinner.)

Figurative meaning: To eat heartily or consume something completely. For example, ¡Cena todo el pastel! (Eat the whole cake!)

Slang meaning: To defeat or outperform someone decisively. For example, ¡Cénate a ese equipo! (Crush that team!)

Vulgar slang meaning: An extremely rude way to tell someone to perform oral sex, used in a very offensive way. For example, ¡Cena esta! (A very vulgar way to command oral sex.)

Examples

Examples of Cenar in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

¡Cenemos en ese restaurante nuevo! (Let’s have dinner at that new restaurant!)

Por favor, cena antes de salir. (Please have dinner before going out.)

Mamá, cenen sin mí esta noche. Llegaré tarde del trabajo. (Mom, have dinner without me tonight. I’ll be home late from work.)

Amigo, cene conmigo esta noche. Tengo algo importante que contarte. (Friend, have dinner with me tonight. I have something important to tell you.)

Hijos, cenad y luego hagan sus tareas. (Kids, have dinner and then do your homework.)

Antes de ir al cine, cenemos algo rápido. (Before going to the movies, let’s have a quick dinner.)

¿Quieres que cenemos afuera esta noche? Conozco un buen lugar. (Do you want to have dinner out tonight? I know a good place.)

Después del largo viaje, cena y descansa un poco. (After the long trip, have dinner and rest a bit.)

En la reunión familiar, cenen todos juntos como una tradición. (At the family gathering, have dinner together as a tradition.)

Jefe, cene con nosotros para discutir el nuevo proyecto. (Boss, have dinner with us to discuss the new project.)

Oye, cenad temprano para que podamos salir después. (Hey, have dinner early so we can go out later.)

Antes de ver la película, cenemos unas buenas quesadillas. (Before watching the movie, let’s have some good quesadillas for dinner.)

Para celebrar tu cumpleaños, cena donde quieras esta noche. (To celebrate your birthday, have dinner wherever you want tonight.)

Después del largo día, cenen y relajen en casa. (After the long day, have dinner and relax at home.)

Amigos, cenemos juntos esta noche como en los viejos tiempos. (Friends, let’s have dinner together tonight like old times.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cenar (to have dinner) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperative mood is also known as the Command Form, Affirmative Command Mood, or Direct Command Form in English, and as Modo Imperativo, Imperativo Afirmativo, Mandatos Afirmativos, or Forma de Mandato in Spanish.