The Imperative in French
The Imperative in French
The imperative is used to give orders, advice, suggestions, or instructions. It corresponds to commands or requests in English.
The imperative is formed with three grammatical persons:
- tu (you, singular informal)
- nous (we, let's…)
- vous (you, plural or formal)
Note: The subject pronoun is omitted in the imperative.
Example with parler (to speak – 1st group):
- Parle ! → Speak!
- Parlons ! → Let's speak!
- Parlez ! → Speak! (plural or formal)
Example with finir (to finish – 2nd group):
- Finis ! → Finish!
- Finissons ! → Let's finish!
- Finissez ! → Finish! (plural or formal)
Example with prendre (to take – 3rd group):
- Prends ! → Take!
- Prenons ! → Let's take!
- Prenez ! → Take! (plural or formal)
Example with venir (to come – 3rd group, irregular):
- Viens ! → Come!
- Venons ! → Let's come!
- Venez ! → Come! (plural or formal)
Example with faire (to do/make – 3rd group, irregular):
- Fais ! → Do! / Make!
- Faisons ! → Let's do!
- Faites ! → Do! (plural or formal)
2. For -ER verbs (and aller)
For -ER verbs (and the verb aller), the final -s of the tu form is dropped in the imperative.
Examples:
- Tu parles → Parle ! (Speak!)
- Tu vas → Va ! (Go!)
However, the -s is kept when followed by en or y (for pronunciation reasons):
- Vas-y ! → Go there!
- Manges-en ! → Eat some!
This rule helps avoid an awkward pause between two vowels (a hiatus) and makes pronunciation smoother. The added -s acts as a "link" (liaison) between the verb and y or en.
3. Negative imperative
To make a negative imperative, place ne and pas (or other negative words) around the verb:
Examples:
- Ne parle pas ! → Don't speak!
- Ne faisons pas ça ! → Let's not do that!
- Ne partez pas ! → Don't leave!
4. Imperative with reflexive verbs and pronouns (like me, te, le, lui, en, y)
When you use verbs that have a reflexive pronoun (like se lever → "to get up") or other small words like me, te, le, lui, en, y ("me, you, him, to him, some, there"), the position of the pronoun changes depending on whether the sentence is positive or negative:
- In a positive sentence: the pronoun goes after the verb and is joined with a hyphen.
Example: "Lève-toi !" (Get up!), "Donne-le-moi !" (Give it to me!)
- In a negative sentence: the pronoun stays before the verb, inside the "ne...pas" (or similar) negation.
Example: "Ne te lève pas !" (Don’t get up!), "Ne me le donne pas !" (Don’t give it to me!)
Note: In a positive command, me changes to moi, and te changes to toi. Also, if the verb ends in -ER (like parle = "speak") or is aller ("to go"), and you’re using y or en, you add an extra -s at the end of the verb for better pronunciation:
Example: "Vas-y !" (Go there!), "Manges-en !" (Eat some!)
Affirmative:
- Lève-toi ! → Get up!
- Reposons-nous ! → Let's rest!
- Dépêchez-vous ! → Hurry up!
- Vas-y ! → Go there!
- Manges-en ! → Eat some!
- Parle-lui ! → Talk to him!
- Donne-le-moi ! → Give it to me!
- Donne-m'en ! → Give me some!
Negative:
- Ne te lève pas ! → Don't get up!
- Ne nous reposons pas ! → Let's not rest!
- Ne vous dépêchez pas ! → Don't hurry!
- N'y va pas ! → Don't go there!
- N'en mange pas ! → Don't eat any!
- Ne lui parle pas ! → Don't talk to him!
- Ne me le donne pas ! → Don't give it to me!
- Ne m'en donne pas ! → Don't give me any!
5. Usage tips
The imperative is often used in:
- recipes → Ajoutez le sucre. (Add the sugar.)
- instructions → Tournez à droite. (Turn right.)
- giving advice → Prends un parapluie. (Take an umbrella.)
- expressing encouragement → Sois courageux ! (Be brave!)
6. Imperative forms of the most common irregular verbs
Here are the imperative forms of the most frequently used irregular verbs:
aller (to go)
- Va ! → Go!
- Allons ! → Let's go!
- Allez ! → Go! (plural/formal)
avoir (to have)
- Aie ! → Have!
- Ayons ! → Let's have!
- Ayez ! → Have! (plural/formal)
être (to be)
- Sois ! → Be!
- Soyons ! → Let's be!
- Soyez ! → Be! (plural/formal)
savoir (to know)
- Sache ! → Know!
- Sachons ! → Let's know!
- Sachez ! → Know! (plural/formal)
vouloir (to want) – mostly formal/polite imperative
- Veuille ! → Please (be willing)!
- Veuillons ! → Let's (be willing)!
- Veuillez ! → Please!
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