French Imperative
Impératif
The imperative (l'impératif) is a French mood which is used to
- give an order
- express a desire
- offer advice
- recommend something
- make a request
| Fermez la porte. | Close the door. |
| Mangeons maintenant. | Let's eat now. |
The imperative is often used to make a polite request:
| Ayez la bonté de m'attendre. | Please wait for me. |
| Veuillez m'excuser. | Please excuse me. |
Note that the subject pronoun is not used with the imperative.
There are only three grammatical persons that can be used in the imperative: tu, nous, and vous, and their conjugations are very simple.
-
-IR and -RE verbs: The imperative of regular and most* irregular -IR and -RE verbs is the same as the indicative.
* Except for verbs like ouvrir and souffrir (see 2, below) and the four irregular imperative verbs (see 3).
-
-ER verbs and verbs like ouvrir and souffrir (which are conjugated like -er verbs, meaning that in the indicative the tu form ends in -es)
+ Nous and vous forms of the imperative are the same as the indicative.
+ Tu form drops the final s (tu manges --> mange !)
| -ER verbs | -IR verbs | -RE verbs | |
| parler | finir | attendre | |
| (tu) | parle | finis | attends |
| (nous) | parlons | finissons | attendons |
| (vous) | parlez | finissez | attendez |
-
There are four verbs with irregular forms in the imperative:
| avoir | être | savoir | vouloir | |
| (tu) | aie | sois | sache | veuille |
| (nous) | ayons | soyons | sachons | |
| (vous) | ayez | soyez | sachez | veuillez |
To make a negative command, place ne in front of the verb and the appropriate negative adverb after the verb:
| Ne parle pas ! | Don't speak! |
| N'ayez jamais peur. | Never be afraid. |
Any pronouns (including reflexive pronouns, in the case of pronominal tenses, and object pronouns) are placed after the verb and linked with a hyphen. In addition, me and te change to the stressed pronouns moi and toi.
| Lève-toi ! | Get up! |
| Dis-moi ! | Tell me! |
| Donne-le-moi ! | Give it to me! |
More about word order with the imperative
When a tu command is followed by the pronouns y or en, the final s is not dropped:
| Vas-y ! | Go away! |
| Parles-en. | Talk about it. |
In instructions or other impersonal commands, the infinitive is often used as an imperative:
| Mettre toujours la ceinture de sécurité | Always wear (your) seatbelt. |
| Ajouter les oignons à la sauce. | Add the onions to the sauce. |
| Test on Imperative Past imperative Giving Orders in French |
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