The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of Picar is used to give direct orders or instructions, for example: ¡Pica la cebolla! (Chop the onion!). It allows you to directly command someone to perform the action of chopping or cutting something.

Picar is a spelling-changing verb that follows the -car to -que conjugation pattern. In the imperative mood, the stem vowel changes from i to i before adding the corresponding endings.

Conjugations

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

Picar generally means to prick, sting, or bite, but has several different meanings in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands), some of which might surprise you.

To chop or cut into pieces: for example, ¡Pica la cebolla! (Chop the onion!)

To eat a snack or appetizer: for example, ¡Piquen algo antes de la cena! (Have a snack before dinner!)

To type or enter data: for example, ¡Pica tu contraseña! (Type your password!)

To tease or make fun of (colloquial): for example, ¡No me piquen con eso! (Don’t tease me about that!)

To arouse sexual interest (slang): for example, ¡Pícame, mamacita! (Turn me on, baby!)

Examples

Examples of Picar in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

¡Pica la cebolla en cubitos pequeños! (Chop the onion into small cubes!)

Para hacer una buena salsa, piquemos los tomates maduros. (To make a good sauce, let’s chop the ripe tomatoes.)

Antes de freír el pollo, pique las especias para liberar su aroma. (Before frying the chicken, chop the spices to release their aroma.)

¡Pica la carne en trozos pequeños para que se cocine más rápido! (Cut the meat into small pieces so it cooks faster!)

Amigo, pique las hierbas frescas para realzar el sabor de la comida. (Friend, chop the fresh herbs to enhance the flavor of the food.)

En la clase de cocina, piquemos los ingredientes juntos para practicar. (In the cooking class, let’s chop the ingredients together to practice.)

Para el picnic, pica los vegetales crudos para los aperitivos. (For the picnic, chop the raw veggies for the appetizers.)

Abuela, pique las nueces para la tarta de manzana. (Grandma, chop the nuts for the apple tart.)

Antes de la fiesta, piquemos los ingredientes para hacer guacamole casero. (Before the party, let’s chop the ingredients to make homemade guacamole.)

Para el desayuno, pica las frutas frescas para la ensalada de frutas. (For breakfast, chop the fresh fruits for the fruit salad.)

Hijo, pique las zanahorias para la sopa de verduras. (Son, chop the carrots for the vegetable soup.)

Antes de cocinar, piquemos los ingredientes para ahorrar tiempo. (Before cooking, let’s chop the ingredients to save time.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Picar (to sting) 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.