The Imperative
The Imperative is used to give orders or instructions.
It is formed like the Present tense (except for 'er' verbs which drop the 's' in the TU form)
There are three forms-
Mange!- Eat!(tu form)
Mangeons!- Let's eat (nous form)
Mangez!- Eat! (vous form)
Examples:
Arrête! |
Stop! (tu form) |
| Allons! | Let's go! (nous form) |
| Allez plus vite! | Go quickly! (vous form) |
There are three verbs whose imperative is irregular:
AVOIR= aie, ayons, ayez
ETRE= sois, soyons, soyez
SAVOIR= sache, sachons, sachez
- When using 'NEGATIVES' with imperatives, put ne and pas round the verb as usual.
Example: Ne touchez pas!- Don't touch!(vous form)
- With REFLEXIVE verbs, the imperative follows this pattern:
Lève-toi / Levons-nous / Levez-vous
- But note the DIFFERENCE in the Negative:
Ne te lève pas
Ne nous levons pas
Ne vous levez pas
