12.5. L’impératif

Giving Commands Using the Imperative

12.5.1. The Main Idea

The imperative is used to give commands, instructions, advice, or invitations.

Tournez à droite.	Turn right. formal or plural
Va tout droit.	Go straight. informal
Écoute bien.	Listen carefully. informal
Prenez le bus.	Take the bus. formal or plural

You have already seen commands in directions:

Allez tout droit.	Go straight.
Tournez à gauche.	Turn left.
Prenez la première rue à droite.	Take the first street on the right.

12.5.2. The Three Main Imperative Forms

The imperative usually uses three forms:

tu form	for one person informally
nous form	for “let’s…”
vous form	for formal speech or more than one person

Examples with parler:

Parle.	Speak. informal
Parlons.	Let’s speak.
Parlez.	Speak. formal or plural

12.5.3. Important Spelling Note for -er Verbs

For regular -er verbs, the tu command usually drops the final -s.

Tu parles.	You speak.
Parle !	Speak!
Tu écoutes.	You listen.
Écoute !	Listen!
Tu regardes.	You watch.
Regarde !	Look! / Watch!

But the nous and vous forms stay the same:

Parlons.	Let’s speak.
Parlez.	Speak. formal or plural
Écoutons.	Let’s listen.
Écoutez.	Listen. formal or plural

12.5.4. Commands for Directions

Va tout droit.	Go straight. informal
Allez tout droit.	Go straight. formal or plural
Tourne à droite.	Turn right. informal
Tournez à droite.	Turn right. formal or plural
Tourne à gauche.	Turn left. informal
Tournez à gauche.	Turn left. formal or plural
Continue tout droit.	Continue straight. informal
Continuez tout droit.	Continue straight. formal or plural
Prends le bus.	Take the bus. informal
Prenez le bus.	Take the bus. formal or plural

12.5.5. Commands for Advice

The imperative can give direct advice.

Repose-toi.	Rest. informal
Reposez-vous.	Rest. formal or plural
Bois de l’eau.	Drink water. informal
Buvez de l’eau.	Drink water. formal or plural
Étudie ce soir.	Study tonight. informal
Étudiez ce soir.	Study tonight. formal or plural
Attends ici.	Wait here. informal
Attendez ici.	Wait here. formal or plural

These are more direct than tu devrais.

Tu devrais dormir.	You should sleep. softer advice
Dors.	Sleep. direct command

12.5.6. Commands with Nous: Let’s

Use the nous form to say let’s.

Allons-y.	Let’s go.
Parlons français.	Let’s speak French.
Étudions ensemble.	Let’s study together.
Prenons le bus.	Let’s take the bus.
Faisons une pause.	Let’s take a break.
Restons ici.	Let’s stay here.

12.5.7. Negative Commands

To say do not, put ne… pas around the command.

Ne parle pas trop vite.	Do not speak too fast. informal
Ne parlez pas trop vite.	Do not speak too fast. formal or plural
Ne pars pas.	Do not leave. informal
Ne partez pas.	Do not leave. formal or plural
Ne prends pas le bus.	Do not take the bus. informal
Ne prenez pas le bus.	Do not take the bus. formal or plural
Ne tourne pas à gauche.	Do not turn left. informal
Ne tournez pas à gauche.	Do not turn left. formal or plural

12.5.8. Connecting with Il Faut

You can use il faut to make a command feel more general or less personal.

Tournez à droite.	Turn right.
Il faut tourner à droite.	You have to turn right. / It is necessary to turn right.
Attendez ici.	Wait here.
Il faut attendre ici.	You have to wait here.
Ne parlez pas trop vite.	Do not speak too fast.
Il ne faut pas parler trop vite.	You must not speak too fast.

Il faut is useful for rules, instructions, and general advice. It has a little signpost voice, less finger-pointing, more “the map says so.”

12.5.9. Connecting with Devoir and Pouvoir

Use devoir to say someone has to do something.

Tu dois tourner à droite.	You have to turn right.
Vous devez attendre ici.	You have to wait here.
Tu dois prendre le bus.	You have to take the bus.

Use pouvoir to say someone can or may do something.

Tu peux tourner à droite.	You can turn right.
Vous pouvez attendre ici.	You can wait here.
Tu peux prendre le bus.	You can take the bus.

Compare the feeling:

Tournez à droite.	Turn right. direct instruction
Vous devez tourner à droite.	You have to turn right. obligation
Vous pouvez tourner à droite.	You can turn right. possibility / permission
Il faut tourner à droite.	One has to turn right. general instruction

12.5.10. Common Irregular Imperatives

Some common verbs have irregular command forms.

être	sois / soyons / soyez
avoir	aie / ayons / ayez
savoir	sache / sachons / sachez
aller	va / allons / allez
faire	fais / faisons / faites

Examples:

Sois patient.	Be patient. informal masculine
Soyez patient.	Be patient. formal masculine
Aie confiance.	Have confidence. / Trust yourself. informal
Ayez confiance.	Have confidence. formal or plural
Sache que c’est important.	Know that it is important. informal
Va à droite.	Go right. informal
Allez à droite.	Go right. formal or plural
Fais attention.	Pay attention. informal
Faites attention.	Pay attention. formal or plural

12.5.11. Core Patterns

tu command	Parle. / Va. / Prends.
nous command	Parlons. / Allons. / Prenons.
vous command	Parlez. / Allez. / Prenez.
ne + command + pas	Ne parle pas.
il faut + infinitive	You have to ___.
il ne faut pas + infinitive	You must not ___.
devoir + infinitive	to have to ___
pouvoir + infinitive	to be able to / can ___

12.5.12. Practice

Turn right. formal
Turn left. informal
Go straight. formal
Take the bus. informal
Let’s go.
Let’s study together.
Do not speak too fast. informal
You have to wait here. formal
You can take the bus. informal
You must not turn left. general

12.5.13. Answers

Turn right. formal	Tournez à droite.
Turn left. informal	Tourne à gauche.
Go straight. formal	Allez tout droit.
Take the bus. informal	Prends le bus.
Let’s go.	Allons-y.
Let’s study together.	Étudions ensemble.
Do not speak too fast. informal	Ne parle pas trop vite.
You have to wait here. formal	Vous devez attendre ici.
You can take the bus. informal	Tu peux prendre le bus.
You must not turn left. general	Il ne faut pas tourner à gauche.

12.5.14. Short Dialogue

A : Excusez-moi, pour aller à la gare ?	A: Excuse me, how do I get to the train station?
B : Allez tout droit, puis tournez à droite.	B: Go straight, then turn right.
A : Je peux y aller à pied ?	A: Can I go there on foot?
B : Oui, mais il faut marcher dix minutes.	B: Yes, but you have to walk ten minutes.
A : D’accord. Merci !	A: Okay. Thank you!

12.5.15. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to give commands with the imperative, especially for directions and advice, use ne… pas for negative commands, use nous commands to say “let’s,” and compare direct commands with il faut, devoir, and pouvoir.