LEARN FRENCH IMPERATIVE TENSE

         French Imperative Tense  

The imperative is used in French the same way it is used in English, to give an order, offer an advice, request something ... Note that the imperative in French doesn’t use subject pronouns (je, tu, il ….) and if it’s necessary to use them they would be used after the verb and not after, also note that there are only three forms in the imperative (tu/ you, nous/ we, and vous/ you guys or you polite), which makes it easy for you to master.

Ouvre la fenêtre: Open the window! (familiar)

Ouvrons la fenêtre: let’s open the window

Ouvrez la fenêtre! Open the window! (polite)

Allons y! Let’s go!

The good news is that to conjugate the imperative of verbs ending in (-ir) and (-er) you simply need to use the indicative present conjugation.

While the imperative of (-er) verbs are conjugated the same as the indicative present, but the final s of the tu form should be omitted.

Tu regardes/ you look. becomes : Regarde! Look!

The only irregular forms in the imperative are the verbs (avoir/to have, être/ to be, savoir/ to know, vouloir/ to want to)

And finally to make a negative command, simply place (ne) or (n’ before a vowel) in front of the verb and the appropriate negative adverb (pas, plus… after the verb:

N’ouvre pas la fenêtre: don’t open the window! (familiar)

N’ouvrons pas la fenêtre: let’s not open the window

N’ouvrez pas la fenêtre! don’t Open the window! (polite)