The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of Mentir is used to give direct orders or instructions to lie or deceive someone, for example: Miente a tu hermano sobre la fiesta sorpresa. (Lie to your brother about the surprise party.)

This is a stem-changing verb, where the ‘e’ changes to ‘ie’ in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. The conjugations follow a regular pattern once the stem change is applied.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Mentir (to lie) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Latin American Spanish):

Mentir generally means “to lie” or “to tell an untruth”, but has several different meanings in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands), some of which might surprise you.

To lie or deceive: This is the most common meaning. For example, Miente sobre tu edad (Lie about your age).

To exaggerate or embellish: Sometimes used to suggest stretching the truth or making something sound better than it is. For example, Miente un poco para impresionarla (Embellish a bit to impress her).

To pretend or act: Can mean to feign or put on an act, often in a playful or theatrical sense. For example, Miente que eres un superhéroe (Pretend you’re a superhero).

To mislead or fool (colloquial): In some contexts, can imply tricking or pulling one over on someone. For example, Miéntele para que te deje en paz (Fool him so he’ll leave you alone).

Examples

Examples of Mentir in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

¡Miente a tu jefe sobre por qué llegas tarde! (Lie to your boss about why you’re late!)

Mamá, por favor miente y di que estoy enfermo para no ir a la escuela. (Mom, please lie and say I’m sick so I don’t have to go to school.)

En esta situación difícil, es mejor que mientas un poco para evitar problemas. (In this difficult situation, it’s better if you lie a little to avoid problems.)

¡Mintamos en nuestras solicitudes de empleo para impresionar a los empleadores! (Let’s lie on our job applications to impress employers!)

Chicos, mientan a la policía y digan que no vieron nada. (Guys, lie to the police and say you didn’t see anything.)

Si tu pareja te pregunta si te gusta su nuevo corte de pelo, miente para no herir sus sentimientos. (If your partner asks if you like their new haircut, lie to avoid hurting their feelings.)

En el mundo de los negocios, a veces hay que mentir un poco para cerrar un trato. (In the business world, sometimes you have to lie a little to close a deal.)

Si tu amigo te pregunta si te gusta su nueva novia, miente para no arruinar su relación. (If your friend asks if you like their new girlfriend, lie to avoid ruining their relationship.)

Cuando vayas a la entrevista de trabajo, miente sobre tus habilidades para impresionar al entrevistador. (When you go to the job interview, lie about your skills to impress the interviewer.)

En una situación de emergencia, es aceptable mentir para proteger a los demás. (In an emergency situation, it’s acceptable to lie to protect others.)

Si tu amigo te pregunta si te gusta su nueva novia, miente para no arruinar su relación. (If your friend asks if you like their new girlfriend, lie to avoid ruining their relationship.)

Cuando vayas a la entrevista de trabajo, miente sobre tus habilidades para impresionar al entrevistador. (When you go to the job interview, lie about your skills to impress the interviewer.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Mentir (to lie) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.