Question

French Tutorial: Imperatives

Answer 1

\({\bf{Three~Imperative~Forms:}}\)

tu (informal imperatives)
vous (formal imperatives)
nous (imperatives based on "us," ex: "Let's go")

however, these subject pronouns are not included in the actual imperative.

the imperative differs depending on the verb forms.

- regular -er verbs
keep the same conjugation as the tu, vous, and nous forms ***except*** drop the final -s in the tu form

Mange (Eat, informal)
Mangez (Eat, formal)
Mangeons (Let's eat.)

Mange ton dîner. (Eat your dinner, informal.)

- regular -ir verbs
keep the s in the tu form
Obéis (Obey, informal)
Obéissez (Obey, formal)
Obéissons (Let's obey)

Obéissez à vos parents. (Obey your parents, formal.)

- regular -re verbs
drop the s in the tu form
Écoute (Listen, informal)
Écoutez (Listen, formal)
Écoutons (Let's listen)

Écoutons la musique. (Let's listen to the music.)

Answer 2

\({\bf{Irregular~Imperatives:}}\) for now we will just cover faire, aller, être, and avoir

faire
fais
faites
faisons

aller
va
allez
allons

être
sois
soyez
soyons

avoir
aie
ayez
ayons

examples:
Fais tes devoirs. (Do your homework.)
Allez-vous en. (Go away.)
Soyez une personne décente. (Be a decent person.)
Ayez une once de discipline. (Have an ounce of discipline.)

Answer 3

\({\bf{Negative~Imperatives:}}\)
Format: ne + (imperative verb) + pas\

examples: Ne pas déranger. (Do not disturb.)
N'interrompez pas mes tutoriels. (Do not interrupt my tutorials.)

\({\bf{Grammatical~Structures~of~Imperatives:}}\)
imperatives can be used before:
- adjectives:
ex: Sois différent. (Be different.)

- adverbs
ex: Écrivez vite. (Write quickly.)

- direct object nouns
ex: Avoir du courage. (Have courage.)

- indirect object nouns
ex: Donnez aux gens une pause. (Give people a break.)

- prepositional phrases
ex: Allez aux urnes. (Go to the polls.)

- infinitives
ex: Allons nager. (Let's go swimming.)

Answer 4

\({\bf{Imperatives~with~Pronouns:}}\)

append DO pronouns, IO pronouns, and en/y to the imperative with a hyphen.

ex:
Sauve-les. (Save them.)
Donnez-leur l'argent. (Give them them the money.)
Conduisons-y. (Let's drive there.)
Prends-en un. (Get one.)

me and te ---> moi and toi for affirmative commands only (not negative commands)
ex:
Remarquez-moi, senpai. (Notice me, senpai.)
Excuse-toi. (Excuse you.)
vs.
Ne me remarque pas. (Do not notice me.)

spelling note/pronunciation: in the tu form in -er verbs, add the s back if either -en or -y is being appended to the verb
ex: Discutes-en. (Discuss it.) Do not say discute-en.

Answer 5

\({\bf{References:}}\)

Rochester, Myrna B. Easy French Step-by-Step, United States, McGraw-Hill Education, 2009, 242-247.

CollinsDictionary for French and English translations

Forvo (https://forvo.com/), a French pronunciation database with samples from native French speakers