LEARNING THE FRENCH

IMPERATIVE TENSE

This learning guide is divided into differentparts with a quick recap after each topic.

1) WHAT IS IMPERATIVE?

2) AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVECOMMANDS

1. WHAT ISIMPERATIVE?

ENGLISH

Imperative is a type of sentence to issue commands or give instructions.

Other uses of the imperative are:• to express a desire,• to make a request,• to give an advice,• to recomend something.

ENGLISH

Imperative is a type of sentence to issue commands or give instructions.

Other uses of the imperative are:• to express a desire,• to make a request,• to give an advice,• to recomend something.

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN USING THE IMPERATIVE

FRENCH

1. There are two often-used forms of the French imperative, and thesecorrespond to tu and vous. The third form nous is only being usedsometimes, and it works the same way we say “let’s” in English.

2. Unlike the other verb forms and grammatical moods, the imperativedoes not use subject pronouns. Instead, object pronouns are beingused.

3. To form the present tense imperative, you simply use the presentindicative forms for tu, nous, and vous, but these pronouns are nolonger being mentioned.

FRENCH

Note:In the tu form of -er verbs, the last -s is droppedi.e. donne instead of donnes.

But when tu is followed by en or y, the -s remains to make it easier topronounce.i.e. Vas-y! (Go on!) or

Donnes-en à ton frère (Give some to your brother.)

2. AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVECOMMANDS A

FFIRMATIVE

AND

NEGATIVE

There are two kinds of commands where the imperative is being used.These are the affirmative commands and the negative commands.

EnglishAffirmataive commands do this!Negative commands don’t do that!

FrenchAffirmataive commands the object pronoun comes after the verb and

both are joined by a hyphen.i.e. : Excusez-moi. Aide-nous.

Negative commands the object pronoun comes before the verb.i.e. : Ne leur parlons pas. Ne le regardez pas.

AFFIRMATIVE

AND

NEGATIVE

EnglishAffirmataive commands do this!Negative commands don’t do that!

FrenchAffirmataive commands the object pronoun comes after the verb and

both are joined by a hyphen.i.e. : Excusez-moi. Aide-nous.

Negative commands the object pronoun comes before the verb.i.e. : Ne leur parlons pas. Ne le regardez pas.

2. AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE COMMANDS(CONTINUED) A

FFIRMATIVE

AND

NEGATIVE

Quick tip:

object pronouns are words such as la (her/it), me or moi (me),and leur (them). These often appear in the object part of the sentence, butin the case of the imperative, these are the pronouns being used.

There are cases when both direct and indirect object pronouns are present.During these scenarios, the DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS always comeBEFORE the INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS.

Direct object pronouns are: le, la, lesIndirect object pronouns are: moi, toi, lui, nous, vous, leur.

AFFIRMATIVE

AND

NEGATIVE

Quick tip:

object pronouns are words such as la (her/it), me or moi (me),and leur (them). These often appear in the object part of the sentence, butin the case of the imperative, these are the pronouns being used.

There are cases when both direct and indirect object pronouns are present.During these scenarios, the DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS always comeBEFORE the INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS.

Direct object pronouns are: le, la, lesIndirect object pronouns are: moi, toi, lui, nous, vous, leur.

SUMMARY

A quick recap of this topic:

1. The three forms for the imperative are: tu, nous, and vous.2. The conjugation is same as the present tense except that for -er verbs,

the last -s is dropped in the tu form.3. Object pronouns are used in the imperative.4. For affirmative commands, the object pronoun comes after the verb

and both are joined by a hyphen.5. For negative commands, the object pronoun comes before the verb.6. In cases where both direct and indirect object pronouns are present,

direct object pronouns come first before the indirect.

SUMMARY

A quick recap of this topic:

1. The three forms for the imperative are: tu, nous, and vous.2. The conjugation is same as the present tense except that for -er verbs,

the last -s is dropped in the tu form.3. Object pronouns are used in the imperative.4. For affirmative commands, the object pronoun comes after the verb

and both are joined by a hyphen.5. For negative commands, the object pronoun comes before the verb.6. In cases where both direct and indirect object pronouns are present,

direct object pronouns come first before the indirect.

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