French The Imperative

Overview

The Imperative or L’impératif is used to give orders or advice to one or more people. The imperative only exists in the second person singular (tu), the first-person plural (nous) and the second person plural (vous). The imperative is conjugated in the same way as the present tense, but the subject pronouns are omitted.

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July 19, 2023

Stephen Sovenyhazy

Let’s do this next! Study your French! Go to bed early!

You have most likely used the imperative mood without realizing it. The imperative mood is used when you give a command or ask for a request. You are referencing a person or a group of people to do/carry out a task without actually addressing them in the command. Forming the regular imperative, or l’impératif, in French is relatively easy with only a couple fundamental rules.

How to form l’impératif:

The first step of forming the imperative is deciding who the command or request is going to. Is it going to one person? Is it going to a group of people including yourself/the speaker? Is it going to a group of people (not including you/the speaker) or to a single person of higher status?
The second step is to conjugate your verb for either the Tu, Nous, or Vous form depending on your answer to the previous question. Conjugate this verb in the present tense. If your command is in the negative, place the “ne” and “pas” around your verb as per usual.

For -er verbs specifically, you must take off the -s in the “Tu” This rule only applies to the “Tu” form for -er verbs. Example: Parle! Regarde!
The “Nous” form of l’impératif always translates to “Let’s….” being that the speaker is included in the command.

The last step is to finish out your command. You will learn in a future module how to incorporate pronouns and objects into your commands.

Examples:

Fais tes devoirs! → Do your homework !

(Faire conjugated for tu to indicate the speaker is talking to one person.)

Ne regardons pas ce film! → Let’s not watch this movie!

(Regarder conjugated for nous to indicate the speaker is included in the command.)

*Allez-y! → Go!

(Allez conjugated for vous to indicate the speaker is talking to a group of people or one person of higher status)

*When aller is conjugated in the imperative, you add the pronoun “y” to the command with a hyphen. And although aller ends in the letters -er, you do not drop the -s from the “Tu” form when you add the “y.”

Aller in the imperative looks like:

Vas-y → Go (there)!

Allons-y → Let’s go (there)!

Allez-y → Go (there)!

Irregular Imperative Conjugations:

Not every single verb follows the pattern explained above. Here are three verbs that are irregular in the imperative mood:

Avoir: to have Aie… Ayons… Ayez… Examples: Aie de la patience!

Être: to be Sois… Soyons… Soyez… Soyons prudents…

Savoir: to know Sache… Sachons… Sachez… Sachez la vérité!

Highlighted Author:

Stephen Sovenyhazy

Stephen is the President of CORE Languages having founded the company in 2007. His focus is on empowering those with a need for community, culture and communication. For over a decade, CORE has helped businesses achieve their strategic international goals by empowering employees to learn and find joy in communicating in a new language and cultural context. With our online instructor-led courses, we now bring this to community members across the globe. A quote from Stephen. "When I started teaching, I sought to bring that same energy, dedication, and sense of purpose into my own classrooms. I founded CORE Languages to expand that vision, seeing the growing need for language training options designed to meet the unique needs of business environments. For over a decade, CORE has helped businesses achieve their strategic international goals by empowering employees to learn and find joy in communicating in a new language and cultural context. With our online instructor-led courses, we now bring this to community members across the globe. It’s a privilege to do what we do and share what we love with you.”

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The French Pronoun Y

Y replaces or refers back to an adverb phrase of place or of location. In its simplest form, it means just there (in the meaning of in that place) It can also mean in something, on something, under something, beside something, etc.

French Relative Pronouns Qui vs Que

In French, direct object pronouns are used for verbs which aren’t followed by prepositions: Me (me), te (you), nous (us), vous (you), le (him or it), la (her or it), les (them). For example, Je vois le garçon. Je le vois. (I see the boy. I see him).

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

The CEFR is an international standard used to describe language ability. Here are specific details of the CEFR for this topic.

General Explanation:

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Specific Capabilities at this Level

Writing:

I can write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters in areas of immediate needs. I can write a very simple personal letter, for example thanking someone for something.

Spoken Production:

I can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms my family and other people, living conditions, my educational background and my present or most recent job.

Spoken Interaction:

I can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. I can handle very short social exchanges, even though I can’t usually understand enough to keep the conversation going myself.

Reading:

I can read very short, simple texts. I can find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and I can understand short simple personal letters.

Listening:

I can understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local area, employment). I can catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements.