The Imperative (Commands)

The imperative (l'impératif) is the verb form for giving commands, instructions and advice. English uses it constantly: Listen!, Turn left, Don't touch that. French works the same way, but has three command forms depending on who you are talking to.

Form	Used for	Example	English
tu	one person you know well	Écoute!	Listen!
nous	you and others ("let's...")	Écoutons!	Let's listen!
vous	one person (polite) or several people	Écoutez!	Listen!

Notice the imperative has no subject pronoun in front of it: you say Écoute!, not Tu écoute!. The form of the verb alone tells the listener who is meant.

The imperative is tested in the speaking and writing papers (giving directions, advice and instructions) and appears throughout the listening and reading papers.

The rule is simple: take the present tense, then drop the subject pronoun. What is left is the command.

Present tense	Command	English
tu finis	Finis!	Finish!
nous finissons	Finissons!	Let's finish!
vous finissez	Finissez!	Finish!
tu attends	Attends!	Wait!
nous attendons	Attendons!	Let's wait!
vous attendez	Attendez!	Wait!

This works cleanly for -ir verbs (finir) and -re verbs (attendre): the command is identical to the present-tense form with the pronoun removed.

Worked examples:

• Choisis un livre. — Choose a book. (from tu choisis)
• Attendez ici, s'il vous plaît. — Wait here, please. (from vous attendez)
• Prenons le bus. — Let's take the bus. (from nous prenons)

For -er verbs, the tu command is different from the present tense: it drops the final -s. The present tense tu manges ends in -es, but the command is Mange! with no -s.

Verb	Present (tu)	Command (tu)	nous	vous
manger	tu manges	Mange!	Mangeons!	Mangez!
parler	tu parles	Parle!	Parlons!	Parlez!
regarder	tu regardes	Regarde!	Regardons!	Regardez!
écouter	tu écoutes	Écoute!	Écoutons!	Écoutez!

The nous and vous commands keep their normal endings (-ons, -ez). Only the tu form loses the -s.

Rule to memorise: the tu imperative of -er verbs has no -s (Mange!, Parle!, Joue!). The -s returns only before y or en for pronunciation: Vas-y! (Go on!), Manges-en! (Eat some!).

Four common verbs have irregular commands. Aller and faire are needed at both tiers.

Verb	tu	nous	vous	English (tu)
aller	Va!	Allons!	Allez!	Go!
faire	Fais!	Faisons!	Faites!	Do! / Make!
être	Sois!	Soyons!	Soyez!	Be!
avoir	Aie!	Ayons!	Ayez!	Have!

Note that aller follows the -er rule: the tu form is Va! with no -s (but Vas-y! before y).

(Higher tier) The imperatives of être (sois / soyons / soyez) and avoir (aie / ayons / ayez) are Higher-tier only. They appear in fixed phrases such as Sois sage! (Be good!) and Ayez de la patience! (Be patient!).

Worked examples:

• Va au tableau. — Go to the board.
• Faites vos devoirs. — Do your homework.
• Allons-y! — Let's go! (aller + y)

To tell someone not to do something, wrap the verb in ne ... pas (or ne ... jamais, ne ... rien). The ne goes before the verb and pas after it.

Positive	Negative	English
Parle!	Ne parle pas!	Don't speak!
Mangez!	Ne mangez pas!	Don't eat!
Cours!	Ne cours pas!	Don't run!
Oublie!	N'oublie pas!	Don't forget!

The verb form itself does not change — you simply add the negative around it. Before a vowel, ne becomes n' (N'oublie pas!).

Worked examples:

• Ne regarde pas ton téléphone en classe. — Don't look at your phone in class.
• N'ayez pas peur. — Don't be afraid. (Higher — avoir imperative)
• Ne parlons jamais de ça. — Let's never talk about that.

Reflexive verbs (like se lever, se dépêcher) keep their pronoun in the command, but where it goes depends on whether the command is positive or negative.

Positive: the pronoun goes after the verb, joined by a hyphen, and te becomes toi.

Verb	Command	English
se lever	Lève-toi!	Get up!
se dépêcher	Dépêche-toi!	Hurry up!
s'asseoir	Asseyez-vous!	Sit down!
se laver	Lavons-nous!	Let's wash!

Negative: the pronoun goes before the verb (and stays as te), wrapped inside ne ... pas.

Positive	Negative	English
Lève-toi!	Ne te lève pas!	Don't get up!
Dépêche-toi!	Ne te dépêche pas!	Don't hurry!
Asseyez-vous!	Ne vous asseyez pas!	Don't sit down!

Positive reflexive command = pronoun after with a hyphen (te → toi). Negative reflexive command = pronoun before the verb (stays te).

1. Keeping the -s on the tu form of -er verbs

Tu manges is a statement; the command is Mange! with no -s. Writing Manges! or Parles! as a command is wrong. The -s returns only before y or en (Vas-y!).

2. Leaving in the subject pronoun

The imperative drops the pronoun. Write Écoute!, not Tu écoute!, and Allons!, not Nous allons!. The verb form alone shows who is addressed.

3. Putting the reflexive pronoun in the wrong place

In a positive command the pronoun comes after with a hyphen (Lève-toi!); in a negative command it comes before (Ne te lève pas!). Mixing these up (Te lève! or Ne lève-toi pas!) is a common error.

4. Forgetting that te becomes toi

After a positive reflexive command, te changes to the stressed form toi: Dépêche-toi!, not Dépêche-te!. This only happens in the positive command.

5. Treating the nous form as a statement

Allons! means Let's go!, not We go. The nous imperative is an invitation or suggestion, matching English "let's ...", and still drops the pronoun nous at the front.