The French imperative mood (l’impératif) is used for giving orders, suggestions and advice. The imperative is made from the forms of tu, nous and vous in the present indicative, but without the subject pronouns. For regular -er verbs, the -s is dropped in the -tu form. For example, “Mange!” (eat!).
French imperative mood
Imperative conjugations for regular verbs and aller
The following table shows the French imperative forms for regular -er, -ir and -re verbs, ouvrir (to open) and aller (to go).
| PARLER TO SPEAK |
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| parle! parlons! parlez! | speak! let's speak! speak! | ne parle pas! ne parlons pas! ne parlez pas! | don't speak! let's not speak! don't speak! |
| FINIR TO FINISH | |||
| finis! finissons! finissez! | finish! let's finish! finish! | ne finis pas! ne finissons pas! ne finissez pas! | don't finish! let's not finish! don't finish! |
| VENDRE TO SELL | |||
| vends! vendons! vendez! | sell! let's sell! sell! | ne vends pas! ne vendons pas! ne vendez pas! | don't sell! let's not sell! don't sell! |
| OUVRIR TO OPEN | |||
| ouvre! ouvrons! ouvrez! | open! let's open! open! | n'ouvre pas! n'ouvrons pas! n'ourez pas! | don't open! let's not open! don't open! |
| ALLER TO GO | |||
| va! allons! allez! | go! let's go! go! | ne va pas! n'allons pas! n'allez pas! | don't go! let's not go! don't go! |
Imperative example sentences
- Prends un taxi! Take a taxi.
- Partez avant midi! Leave before noon!
- Faites quelque chose! Do something!
- Allons en France! Let’s go to France!
- Sortons ce soir! Let’ go out tonight.
Imperative forms for être, avoir and savoir
The imperative forms or être (to be), avoir (to have) and savoir (to know) are irregular. Note these forms are actually the same as their respective subjunctive conjugations.
| ÊTRE TO BE | |
| sois! soyons! soyez! | be! let's be! be! |
| AVOIR TO HAVE | |
| aie! ayons! ayez! | have! let's have! have! |
| SAVOIR TO KNOW | |
| sache! sachons! sachez! | know! let's know! know! |
French imperative negative forms
In affirmative commands an object pronoun follows the imperative with a hyphen and the stressed pronouns moi, toi and nous are used. In negative commands me, te and nous precede the verb.
| attends-moi! | wait for me! | ne m'attends pas! | don't wait for me! |
| donne-moi | give me! | ne me donne pas! | don't give me! |
| aidons-nous | help us! | ne nous aidons pas! | don't help us! |
| prêtez-moi! | lend me! | ne me prêtez pas! | don't let me! |
Reflexive verbs in the imperative
For reflexive verbs the same system is used. Stressed pronouns follow the verbs with a hyphen in affirmative commands and me, te and nous precede the verbs in negative commands.
| SE LEVER TO GET UP | |||
| lève-toi! levons-nous! levez-vous! | get up! let's get up! get up! | ne te lève pas! ne nous levons pas! ne vous levez pas! | don't get up! let's not get up! don't get up! |
| SE COUCHER TO TO BED | |||
| couche-toi! couchons-nous! couchez-vous! | go to bed! let's go to bed! go to bed! | ne te couche pas! ne nous couchons pas! ne vous couchez pas! | don't go to bed! let's not go to bed! go to bed! |
| SE MARIER TO GET MARRIED | |||
| marie-toi! marions-nous! mariez-vous! | get maried! let's get maried! get maried! | ne te marie pas! ne nous marions pas! ne vous mariez pas! | don't get maried! let's not get maried! get maried! |
Situations were the -s is maintained in the tu form
For commands followed by y and en keep the -s in the tu form for regular -er verbs, -ir verbs conjugated like -er verbs and aller (to go). The -s is maintained to create a liaison effect.
- Vas-y! go!
- Manges-en! Eat some!
- Penses-y! Think about it!
- Profites-en! Have a good time!
- Ouvres-en! Open some!
- Achètes-en! Buy some!
Related lessons:
References:
French grammar | Lessons by David Issokson
