The imperative mood allows you to directly tell someone to do something. In French, the imperative is formed by using the verb stem for tu, nous, and vous forms of the present tense, but without the subject pronoun.
- For -er verbs, the tu form drops the final -s:
Parle! (Speak!)
- For -ir and -re verbs, the tu form is the same as the present tense:
Finis! (Finish!)
Vends! (Sell!)
The nous form corresponds to "Let's..." and the vous form is used for formal or plural commands.
Negative commands are formed by placing ne...pas around the verb:
Ne parle pas! (Don’t speak!)
The imperative also works with the pronouns for giving commands involving objects, where the pronouns come after the verb and are connected with hyphens:
Donne-le! (Give it!)
In negative commands, the pronouns go before the verb:
Ne le donne pas! (Don’t give it!)
Mastering the imperative mood lets you confidently give instructions and make polite requests in French.
A2
Table of Contents
- Affirmative Commands
Affirmative commands in French, along with examples for regular and irregular verbs, and key grammar rules for usage.
- Negative Commands
Negative commands in French show how to tell someone not to do something. They use the imperative mood along with “ne ... pas” (or other negative words) around the verb.
Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025
