10. Giving Orders: The Imperative

One evening, coming home from work, Mme Legendre finds her two kids watching TV. They haven’t done their homework or cleaned their rooms. She is not pleased with the situation and tells them: Arrêtez de regarder la télévision, faites vos devoirs et nettoyez vos chambres!

General rules:

(1) As in English, commands are given in French without using the subject pronoun:

Vous faites vos devoirs!

(2) Either tu or vous form can be used when addressing one person, depending on the formality of the context (cf. tutoiement vs vouvoiement).

(3) The nous form can also be used and corresponds to the English ‘let’s’:

Allons faire un pique-nique! (‘Let’s go have a picnic!’).

(4) Only the tu, nous and vous forms can be used at the imperative.

(5) The imperative forms of a verb are the same as the present-tense forms.

(6) The final ‘-s’ of the tu form of ‘-ER’ verbs is always dropped:

Range ta chambre! (‘Clean your room!’)

This rule also applies to the irregular verb aller, as well as verbs conjugated like ‘-ER’ verbs, such as ouvrir (‘to open’) and offrir (‘to offer’).

Examples:

Ouvre la porte! (‘Open the door’)

Va acheter du pain! (‘Go buy some bread!’)

Offre ton cadeau! (‘Offer your present!’)

When a negation is used, ne precedes the verb, and the second part of the negation (pas, jamais, plus, etc) follows it: Ne regardez pas la télévision! Ne joue plus aux jeux vidéos! (‘Don’t play video games anymore!’)

The verbs avoir, être and savoir have irregular imperative forms:

Avoir Être Savoir

(Tu) Aies (Tu) Sois (Tu) Sache

(Nous) Ayons (Nous) Soyons

(Nous) Sachons

(Vous) Ayez (Vous) Soyez (Vous) Sachez