how do you conjugate imperative verbs in french

The three forms for the French imperative are tu, nous, and vous. To conjugate, take the present tense of the verb and drop the last -s in the tu form. For affirmative commands, join the object pronoun and verb with a hyphen after theverb.

Full Answer

How to form and use the French imperative?

When using object pronouns with the imperative, the pronouns follow the verb and are hyphenated.

• Donne-le-lui! ( Give it to him!)
• Achetons-en. ( Let's buy some.)
• Vas-y. ( Go there.) Remember the letter "s" is kept when followed by -y or -en.
• Parlez-moi! ( Speak to me!) Notice the emphatic "moi" is used rather than "me"; -toi would be used instead of -te.

What are the most common French verbs?

être — “to be”

• je suis — I am
• tu es — you (singular informal) are
• il, elle, on est — he, she, it is
• nous sommes — we are
• vous êtes — you (plural informal/singular formal) are
• ils, elles sont — they are

What are all the French verb tenses?

introduction to French verb tenses

• Present Tense. The first tense which you’ll need to focus on the present tense. ...
• Passé Composé. The second these which you’ll have to learn is called the “ Passé Composé “. ...
• Imperfect Tense. With just the present tense and the passé composé you can talk about what you’re doing and what you did.
• Future Tense. ...
• Conditional. ...
• Present Subjunctive. ...
• Imperative. ...

What is the imperative form of avoir in French?

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 respect subjunctive conjugations. negation In affirmative commands an object pronoun follows the imperative with a hyphen and the stressed pronouns moi, toi and nous are used.

How do you put imperative verbs in French?

For regular verbs in French, the imperative is the same as the tu, nous and vous forms of the present tense, except that you do not say the pronouns tu, nous and vous. Also, in the tu form of -er verbs like donner, the final -s is dropped. Donne-moi ça!

What are the three forms of the French imperative?

There are three forms of the imperative: tu, nous and vous. For all verbs, the imperative is formed by taking the corresponding forms of the present indicative, but without subject pronouns. The lack of a subject pronoun is what identifies the imperative mood.

How do you do imperative pronouns in French?

3:1741:26French Imperative with pronouns lesson - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWe've got our present tense to Swasey. Look in the imperative. I just take two off I don't need itMoreWe've got our present tense to Swasey. Look in the imperative. I just take two off I don't need it anymore. Because I'm not saying you choose I'm saying choose or vous choise e say becomes choise EC.

What does imperative conjugation mean?

The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. To form the imperative mood, use the base form of the verb.

How do you conjugate verbs in French?

Understanding Regular French Verb ConjugationRemove the “er” – this will give you what is called “the stem” in grammatical jargon. Parler – er = parl.To the stem, add the ending corresponding the the subject pronoun. Je = stem + e = je parle. Tu = stem + es = tu parles. Il, elle, on = stem + e = il, elle, on parle.

What do imperatives usually end in?

3. Punctuation: Imperative sentences typically end with a period, but the sentence can end with an exclamation mark if the request is particularly urgent.

How do you form an imperative?

You can use the imperative form to give an order, to give a warning or advice, and (if you use “please”) to make a request. To make the imperative, use the infinitive of the verb without 'to': “Come here!” “Sit down!”

What is an example of an imperative verb?

Imperative verbs are words used to create an imperative sentence that gives a command to the person being addressed. The imperative verb is the action that the speaker or writer wants someone to do. An example: “Flip the burger.” Flip is the imperative verb.

How do you form a negative imperative in French?

To form negative imperative, you have to use ne and pas before and after the verb at the affirmative imperative: ne + verb + pas.

What are the four irregular imperatives?

Être, Avoir, Savoir, & Vouloir are the only verbs that are irregular in the imperative.

Do imperative sentences have tense?

An imperative sentence is one which is used to express a command/order or request and also to give an instruction or some advice. Imperative sentences do not require a subject. Furthermore, remember that the verb used in an imperative sentence should always be in the simple present tense.

What are imperatives used to express?

We use imperative clauses when we want to tell someone to do something (most commonly for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or instructions). We can use them to tell people to do or not to do things.

How do you form an imperative?

You can use the imperative form to give an order, to give a warning or advice, and (if you use “please”) to make a request. To make the imperative, use the infinitive of the verb without 'to': “Come here!”

What are the four irregular imperatives?

Être, Avoir, Savoir, & Vouloir are the only verbs that are irregular in the imperative.

How do you form a negative imperative in French?

To form negative imperative, you have to use ne and pas before and after the verb at the affirmative imperative: ne + verb + pas.

How do you form the subjunctive in French?

To conjugate regular verbs into the present subjunctive form, we use the 3rd person plural form (ils) of the present indicative tense. We then remove the -ent ending and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, and -ent.

For other French verbs

For other French verbs, the formation of the imperative is based on the formation of the present. This means that if you already know the present tense, then you know the imperative!

Irregular verbs in the French imperative

Of course, otherwise French would not be French, there are irregular verbs.

The four irregular verbs in the imperative

These are the verbs: être (to be), avoir (to have), savoir (to know), vouloir (to want).

Small exceptions in the spelling of the imperative

We have already seen in the rule that we do not put a final -s to verbs ending in -e. This is the case for all the verbs of the 1st group and the case of some verbs of the 2nd and 3rd group – the other verbs in French – which have their present tense with an -e in the je form.

Imperative to make requests or to give advices

To give advice, the use of the imperative is shared equally with the conditional. Traditionally, French students are taught that advice in French is given with the conditional:

Imperative to give instructions

The last use of the French imperative is to give a list of instructions.

Laisser un commentaire

Enregistrer mon nom, mon e-mail et mon site dans le navigateur pour mon prochain commentaire.

The negative form

The negative form does not give us many problems. It follows the same pattern as the verbs in the present tense. Do you remember how it’s done?

Irregular verbs in the imperative mood

You are probably already aware of the many irregular verbs in the French language.

How to conjugate imperatives?

We conjugate the imperative in the 2 nd person singular using the present-tense form of the 1 st person singular. We do not include the subject pronoun (tu).

What pronoun comes after an imperative?

If the adverbial pronoun y comes after an imperative that ends with a vowel, we add an -s to the imperative verb to make pronunciation easier.

What is l’impératif?

L’impératif (the imperative) 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.

What is the imperative for the 2nd person plural form?

The imperative for the 2 nd person plural form vous is the same as the present-tense form. This means that for - er and -re verbs and irregular verbs we add -ez, and for - ir verbs that are conjugated like finir we add -issez. The pronoun (vous) is omitted.

What is the imperative mood?

The imperative is a mood that we use to give an order or a suggestion to one or more people.

Where is the reflexive pronoun in a negative imperative?

In negative imperatives, however, the reflexive pronoun is unstressed and occupies its normal position: after the ne and before the verb.

Is the imperative conjugated in the present tense?

The imperative is conjugated in the same way as the present tense, but the subject pronouns are omitted. Learn how to use the imperative in French with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises.

What conjugation is used in the imperative present in French?

Good news! The verb conjugations in the Imperative present in French are super simple: you simply use the “tu”, “nous” and “vous” of the Indicative Present (this is why my French audiobook learning method insists so much on the Indicative present tense…) and just like in English, you leave the subject pronouns out.

What are the difficulties with the French Imperative?

The difficulty with the French Imperative are the pronouns (French object pronouns, reflexive pronouns, “y” and “en” – pronouns are explained in my intermediate French learning audiobook method ).

How many people are in the imperative mood in French?

Just like in English, we have affirmative and negative commands. However, since we have two “you” forms in French (“tu” and “vous”), we will have three persons in the Imperative mood in French: “tu”, “vous” and “nous”.

What is the French imperative mood?

The French Imperative mood is used to give an order, make a strong suggestion, give advice to someone. The Imperative mood is also sometimes used for politeness.

What is the French pronoun after "te"?

In the French Imperative affirmative form, the pronoun goes after the verb and the pronouns “me” and “te” (m’, t’) become “moi” and “toi”.

How many imperatives are there in English?

There are only two “grammatical persons” you may use the imperative with in English: “you” (either one person or several), and “we”.

Do French make mistakes when using two pronouns in the imperative mood?

This is so complicated that it will be no surprise to find out that it’s quite common for the French to make mistakes when using two pronouns in the Imperative mood.

How to conjugate the imperative (present) tense in French (regular verbs)

The imperative is quite simple when dealing with regular verbs, as it’s basically identical to the present tense form for tu, vous and nous, minus the preceding pronoun.

What about irregular forms?

The following verbs have irregular patterns, and the imperative is no exception:

Dealing with direct object pronouns and the French imperative

When using an imperative verb, you’ll often want to include the object of the action (e.g. “eat the cake ”).

What is the French imperative?

The French use the imperative (l’impératif) as a tense or mood to give commands and orders as well as make requests.

What is the verb "avoir" in the imperative?

The verbs avoir (to have) etre (to be) and savoir (to know) have irregular forms in the imperative. The verb vouloir (to want to) is always used in the “vous” form: “veuillez” and it translates loosly to “please”.

How to make a negative sentence?

Negative sentences are simply formed by putting a “ne” and “pas” around the verb. Here are some sample sentences.

Do affirmative commands have hyphens?

There are certain situations in affirmative commands where pronouns follow the verb and are attached with a hyphen . In negative commands with pronouns, wrap ne…pas around the verb with the pronoun preceding the verb.

What Is the Imperative?

The imperative mood is found in both English and French and is a very commonly used sentence structure. In short, it is used to tell someone what to do, be it a parent telling a child something, a commanding officer talking to a soldier, or you talking to your pet cat. In English, we see two different forms of the imperitive: the you form and the we form. For example, you might say, “Close the door,” when talking to someone else. This is the you form where the understood subject of the sentence, the person who will be closing the door, is “you.” The other form, the we form, is when you are giving a general command to a group that you are part of. You might say to your friends, “Let’s go see a movie!” This is the we form, a suggestion or command to those around you, including yourself.

How many verb groups are there in French?

Thankfully, just like in English, forming the imperative is fairly straightforward. In French, there are four main verb groups: er verbs, ir verbs, re verbs, and the irregular verbs. Let’s review the main group conjugations for tu, vous, and nous:

What irregularities are there in imperatives?

The only other irregularity with the imperative is with verbs that don’t fit into one of the standard categories. Most of them conjugate just like all other verbs, using the exact same forms with no changes. The exception is verbs that conjugate like -er verbs, but aren’t, such as ouvrir. These verbs follow the same rules as regular -er verbs, even though they aren’t. For example:

How many forms are there in French?

French, on the other hand, has three forms. They are the same, really, but remember: in French, there are two words for “you,” tu and vous, the familiar and the formal. As a result, there are separate forms for each, and which one you pick follows the same rule for deciding between tu and vous in any situation, tu for a single person, someone you are familiar with or close to, and vous for any group or a single person that you are not close to such as a boss, teacher, or someone you have just met.

How many irregulars are there in the imperative?

These forms may seem a bit odd, but there are only four irregulars in the imperative, so it’s not too bad. And thankfully, you will see these same forms come up with other tenses, so learning them will help you then as well.

Is "er" an imperative?

The imperative, for all but one of the above cases, takes the exact same form. The only exception is -er verbs when you are conjugating for tu. In other words, for any of the other forms above, the ones except -er verbs with tu, to form the imperative, this is what you do:

Do you drop the subject in French?

You’ll notice that in English, we drop the subject, in this case, you. In French, you do the same thing. The verb stays the same! This makes it very simple to form the imperative—no new verb endings to learn!

What does "Allez vous embrasser" mean?

Allez vous embrasser! = Go and kiss each other!

Can you use "aller" with the infinitive?

You can alternatively use l'Impératif of aller with the infinitive of the reflexive verb like this:

Is "toi" a pronoun?

Therefore ‘toi’ is the correct pronoun.

Does "aller" have a s in the imperative?

The way I remember this is that regular -er verbs, such as manger, pleurer, tomber, don't have the -s in the imperative. Since the infinitive of aller looks like it would be a regular verb, it also loses the -s in the imperative.

What is imperative in French?

The imperative is the command form; it's when we tell or ask somebody to do something. In French, the imperative is formed from the second person singular or -tu form of the present tense, and also from the second person polite/plural -vous form, again of the present tense. It also includes the form "let's do...".

When using object pronouns with the imperative, do the pronouns follow the verb?

When using object pronouns with the imperative, the pronouns follow the verb and are hyphenated. Some examples:

When using verbs that contain infinitives ending in -er, we remove the final letter "s"?

When using verbs that contain infinitives ending in -er, we remove the final letter "s" from the -tu form of the present tense for the imperative, unless it is followed by the pronouns -y or -en. Here are some examples:

How to form negative imperative?

When you want to form the negative imperative form, simply put -ne in front of the imperative and -pas or an alternative after it. For example:

What does "avoir" mean?

Avoir (To have): Aie, Ayons, Ayez. ( Ex; "Ayons de la patience" means "Let's have patience".) Savoir (To know): Sache, Sachons, Sachez. ( Ex; "Sachez vos amis" means "Know your friends".) When you want to form the negative imperative form, simply put -ne in front of the imperative and -pas or an alternative after it. For example:

Is "let's do" a pronoun?

It also includes the form "let's do...". which is represented by the first person plural or -nous form of the present tense, without the pronoun -nous. With some practice, you'll be able to properly use the imperative command form in French...

Is "er" conjugated the same way as "er"?

They are conjugated the same way except for the tu form of the -er verb as mentioned where the 's' is usually dropped.

When to Use

Conjugation

• We will only use three conjugations to create the imperative mood. Thus, we will focus on the conjugations for: 1. Tu 2. Nous 3. Vous We will also divide the conjugations into the 3 different verb groups. This will make it easier for you to understand the concept. Let’s begin with ER (verbs ending in ER, for instance, parler)

See more on jolifrench.com

The Negative Form

Reflexive Verbs

Irregular Verbs in The Imperative Mood

Pronouns

How Do We Use The Imperative Mood?