How does a learner say “Open the door” or “Let’s begin” in French? Choose the form of the verb that matches the person addressed, leave out the subject pronoun, and add the rest of the instruction. The French imperative can express a request or suggestion as well as an order, so a command in French need not sound harsh.
For example, Ouvre la porte means “Open the door” when speaking informally to one person. Ouvrez la porte addresses more than one person or one person formally. The difference lies in the verb ending; neither sentence includes tu or vous as a subject. The following examples use the present imperative, the usual form for instructions.
French commands for one person, a group, and “let’s”
French commands have three imperative forms. The tu form addresses one person informally; the vous form addresses a group or a person addressed formally; and the nous form includes the speaker, like “let’s” in English. Choice of address depends on the relationship and situation. A student speaking to a close friend might use tu, while a polite request to an unfamiliar adult may call for vous.
For many verbs, start with the corresponding present-tense form and omit the subject pronoun. With the regular verb finir (to finish), the forms are:
- Finis ton travail. — Finish your work. (informal singular)
- Finissons notre travail. — Let’s finish our work.
- Finissez votre travail. — Finish your work. (formal singular or plural)
The imperative form French learners choose therefore carries information about the audience. It does not name the audience explicitly. If the context is unclear, a name can be added separately: Marie, finis ton travail.
Form regular verbs and watch the ending
With most -er verbs, the informal singular imperative drops the final -s found in the present-tense tu form. Compare tu parles (“you speak”) with Parle ! (“Speak!”). The other forms keep their familiar endings: Parlons ! (“Let’s speak!”) and Parlez ! (“Speak!” to a group or formally). The command form French speakers use depends on whom they address, as the table shows.
| Verb | Informal singular | Let’s | Formal or plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| parler — speak | Parle | Parlons | Parlez |
| finir — finish | Finis | Finissons | Finissez |
| prendre — take | Prends | Prenons | Prenez |
The verb aller follows the same loss of -s in its informal singular command: Va ! means “Go!” The forms for the other two audiences are Allons ! and Allez ! Learning imperative French forms as a set of three helps a learner select the right ending instead of relying on an English translation alone.
There is an important spelling change when the pronouns y or en directly follow certain affirmative commands. The singular forms that normally end in a vowel take an -s: Vas-y ! means “Go there!” and Manges-en ! means “Eat some!” The Office québécois de la langue française describes this added s and its limits. For example, Va en acheter means “Go buy some”; here en belongs to the following infinitive, so va does not gain the s.
Learn a few irregular forms
Some common verbs have imperative forms that cannot be made by simply removing the subject from the ordinary present tense. The following are useful to learn together:
| Infinitive | Informal singular | Let’s | Formal or plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| être — be | Sois | Soyons | Soyez |
| avoir — have | Aie | Ayons | Ayez |
| savoir — know | Sache | Sachons | Sachez |
For example, Soyez patient means “Be patient” when addressing one person formally. To a group, the adjective normally agrees with the people addressed: Soyez patients for a masculine or mixed group, or Soyez patientes for a feminine group. A learner using imperative French verbs should check both the verb form and any adjective that describes the people addressed.
The French command form veuillez, from vouloir, appears in polite instructions such as Veuillez patienter (“Please wait”). It is followed by an infinitive here. It is especially common in formal notices; a friend would ordinarily use a simpler request.
Make a command negative
Put ne before the verb and pas after it: Ne parle pas ! means “Don’t speak!” Before a vowel or silent h, ne becomes n’: N’ouvrez pas la fenêtre means “Don’t open the window.” The audience still determines the verb ending, so N’ouvre pas addresses one person informally and N’ouvrez pas uses the formal or plural form.
Negation changes more than meaning when a pronoun is involved. Compare Prends-le (“Take it”) with Ne le prends pas (“Don’t take it”). In the negative command, the object pronoun moves before the verb, between ne and the verb. The hyphen used in the affirmative disappears. This pattern gives a learner a practical way to turn French instructions into prohibitions.
Put pronouns in the right place
In an affirmative command, an object pronoun follows the verb and is joined to it by a hyphen: Regarde-le means “Look at it.” With two pronouns, Donne-le-moi means “Give it to me.” The direct object le comes before moi; me and te become moi and toi in these affirmative examples. In a negative sentence the order changes: Ne me le donne pas means “Don’t give it to me.”
Reflexive verbs follow the same broad contrast. Lève-toi means “Get up,” while Ne te lève pas means “Don’t get up.” For a formal or plural audience the pair is Levez-vous and Ne vous levez pas. The official pronoun guide gives further examples of pronoun order. Practicing a positive and negative pair makes the change visible.
To build imperative French sentences, use this checklist:
- Choose the audience: informal singular, formal or plural, or “let’s.”
- Select the corresponding imperative verb form and omit the subject pronoun.
- For a negative, place ne before the verb and pas after it; put object pronouns before the verb.
- For an affirmative, put object pronouns after the verb with hyphens; check the added s before y or en when applicable.
- Read the instruction in context and choose a polite form when the situation calls for one.
