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.
12.5.16. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
Turn right.
Do not speak too fast.
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Possible answer:
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