32.1 Commands: The Imperative Mood
Feeling bossy? You're in luck. The imperative mood is used to tell someone directly what to do, whether you're giving a command, instruction, suggestion, or request.
The Affirmative Imperative
The affirmative imperative is used to give positive orders or commands and make requests.
The imperative has only three forms, corresponding to tu, nous, and vous. Unlike in the present indicative, however, the subject pronoun is left out:
- Tu parles. → Parle !
- Nous parlons. → Parlons !
- Vous parlez. → Parlez !
The nous form often corresponds to English "let's…", while vous can address a group or one person formally.
Most imperative forms are the same as the corresponding present-tense forms. There are just a few exceptions to learn.
32.2 The ‑ER Verb Exception
For ‑ER verbs, the nous and vous forms stay exactly the same. In the tu form, however, drop the final ‑s:
The same rule applies to aller:
French grammar treats this no-s tu imperative as the standard rule for first-group verbs, with aller following the same singular pattern.
A small group of ‑IR verbs, including verbs ending in ‑frir and ‑vrir, follow the same pattern in the tu form:
- offrir → offre
- ouvrir → ouvre
They otherwise keep their familiar present forms:
32.3 ‑IR and ‑RE Verbs
For most other ‑IR and ‑RE verbs, simply use the corresponding tu, nous, and vous forms of the present indicative.
This works even with many verbs that are irregular in the present tense—you still just use their present forms:
Likewise tenir → tiens, tenons, tenez.
32.4 Pronouns with Affirmative Commands
When a pronoun follows an affirmative command, it is attached to the verb with a hyphen. Most pronouns keep their usual form, but me and te change to moi and toi:
Parle-moi !
Talk to me!
Lève-toi !
Get up!
Y and En
The pronouns y and en can also follow affirmative commands. Y usually replaces a place or something introduced by à, while en usually replaces an amount or something introduced by de.
When a tu imperative that normally drops its final ‑s is followed by y or en, the ‑s returns:
Va ! → Vas-y !
Go! → Go there! / Go ahead!
Mange ! → Manges-en !
Eat! → Eat some!
32.5 Negative Commands
To make a command negative, place ne…pas around the verb. Together, ne…pas means “not” or, in a command, “don’t.”
The Negative Imperative
The negative imperative is used to give negative orders or commands (telling someone not to do something).
- Parle ! → Ne parle pas !
- Allons-y ! → N'allons pas là-bas !
When object or reflexive pronouns are used in a negative command, they appear directly before the verb, just as they do in ordinary negative sentences:
Ne le prends pas.
Don't take it.
Ne vous baignez pas dans la rivière.
Don't swim in the river.
Reflexive affirmative commands follow a different pronoun order, which we'll cover in Lesson 34.
32.6 Using the Imperative
Here are some real-world examples of the imperative in action:
Arrêtez !
Stop!
Tiens ma main.
Hold my hand.
Offrons nos places aux enfants.
Let's offer our seats to the children.
Ne parle pas.
Don't speak.
Ne vous baignez pas dans la rivière.
Don't swim in the river.
N'allons pas à la réunion.
Let's not go to the meeting.
Practice Time!
Master these verb conjugations from Lesson 32