The French imperative (l’impératif présent) is the mood of recipes, road signs, classroom instructions and friendly advice. Its three forms are easy; pronoun placement is the real challenge for English speakers.
The essentials: The French imperative gives orders, advice and instructions and has only three forms: tu, nous (“let’s…”) and vous. It looks like the present tense without the subject pronoun, but -er verbs drop the -s in the tu form (parle, not parles). Four verbs are irregular: être (sois), avoir (aie), savoir (sache) and vouloir (veuille). Pronouns follow the verb with hyphens in affirmative commands and come before it in negative ones.
← French conjugation: all tenses and verbs
When do you use the imperative?
| Use | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| Order or instruction | Ouvrez vos livres. | Open your books. |
| Advice | Dors bien et mange sainement. | Sleep well and eat healthily. |
| Invitation: “let’s” | Allons au cinéma ! | Let’s go to the movies! |
| Polite request | Veuillez patienter. | Please wait. |
| Recipes (often the infinitive) | Mélangez la farine et le sucre. | Mix the flour and sugar. |
For polite requests, add s’il te plaît (tu) or s’il vous plaît (vous). Use vous with strangers and for several people.
How do you form the imperative?
Take the present tense forms for tu, nous and vous and drop the subject pronoun.
| parler | finir | vendre | aller |
|---|---|---|---|
| parle | finis | vends | va |
| parlons | finissons | vendons | allons |
| parlez | finissez | vendez | allez |
Important: for -er verbs (and aller, ouvrir, offrir, cueillir), the tu form has no final -s: parle, ouvre, va. The -s comes back before y and en: Vas-y ! Manges-en !
Irregular imperatives
| être | avoir | savoir | vouloir |
|---|---|---|---|
| sois | aie | sache | veuille |
| soyons | ayons | sachons | veuillons |
| soyez | ayez | sachez | veuillez |
Other forms to note: faire (fais, faisons, faites), dire (dis, disons, dites), venir (viens, venons, venez). The polite request veuillez is used in formal letters.
Negative commands and pronouns
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | verb – pronoun (hyphens) | Donne-le-moi ! Give it to me! |
| Negative | ne + pronoun + verb + pas | Ne me le donne pas ! Do not give it to me! |
| Reflexive verb, affirmative | verb – toi / nous / vous | lève-toi ! Get up! |
| Reflexive verb, negative | ne + te / nous / vous + verb + pas | Ne te lève pas ! Do not get up! |
Affirmative order: direct object first, then indirect: Dis-le-lui. (Tell him/her it.) With moi and toi replacing me and te: Aide-moi ! Lève-toi !
Common mistakes English speakers make
- Keeping the -s in the tu form of -er verbs: Parles plus fort ! is wrong, say Parle plus fort !.
- Using the subject pronoun: Tu viens ici ! is a statement. The command is Viens ici !.
- Using the subjunctive for être and avoir as if they were regular: the imperative forms are sois and aie.
- Putting the pronoun before the verb in affirmative commands: Me donne le livre is wrong, say Donne-moi le livre.
- Translating “let’s” with laissons. Use the nous imperative: Mangeons !, Partons !
23 practice problems
Write your answers on paper first, then check them in the answer key below. Use the exact French forms, with accents.
Problem 1. ___ votre devoir. (vous, finir)
Problem 2. ___ plus fort ! (tu, parler)
Problem 3. ___ le livre. (tu, ouvrir)
Problem 4. ___ au cinéma ! (nous, aller)
Problem 5. ___ patient ! (tu, être)
Problem 6. ___ du courage ! (vous, avoir)
Problem 7. ___ attention ! (tu, faire)
Problem 8. ___ la vérité. (vous, dire)
Problem 9. ___ ici ! (tu, venir)
Problem 10. ___ un taxi. (tu, prendre)
Problem 11. ___ à midi ! (nous, manger)
Problem 12. ___ votre lettre. (vous, écrire)
Problem 13. ___ de l’eau. (tu, boire)
Problem 14. ___ vos clés sur la table. (vous, mettre)
Problem 15. ___ à ma question ! (tu, répondre)
Problem 16. ___ ce livre. (nous, lire)
Problem 17. ___-moi ! (tu, aider)
Problem 18. ___ sur cette chaise. (tu, s’asseoir)
Problem 19. ___ que j’ai raison ! (tu, savoir)
Problem 20. Translate into French: “Let’s start!”
Problem 21. Make negative: Mange-le !
Problem 22. Make negative: Donne-moi le livre.
Problem 23. Correct the mistake: Parles plus lentement !
Answer key
Show the answer key for problems 1 to 23
Problem 1. finissez
Problem 2. parle
Problem 3. ouvre
Problem 4. allons
Problem 5. sois
Problem 6. ayez
Problem 7. fais
Problem 8. dites
Problem 9. viens
Problem 10. prends
Problem 11. mangeons
Problem 12. écrivez
Problem 13. bois
Problem 14. mettez
Problem 15. réponds
Problem 16. lisons
Problem 17. aide
Problem 18. assieds-toi
Problem 19. sache
Problem 20. Commençons !
Problem 21. Ne le mange pas !
Problem 22. Ne me donne pas le livre.
Problem 23. Parle plus lentement !
Quiz: 10 questions
One question at a time, with instant feedback and an explanation for each answer.