Giving Orders

• In French, the imperative form is used for giving orders or instructions.
• There are three forms of the imperative: tu (informal, singular), vous (formal or plural), and nous (we).
• To form the imperative for -er verbs, use the present tense form of the verb without the subject pronoun. For example: ‘Mange ton diner!’ (Eat your dinner!)
• For -ir and -re verbs, use the tu, nous and vous forms of the present tense but drop the subject pronoun. For instance, ‘Finis tes devoirs!’ (Finish your homework!)
• When using the imperative with pronouns, the pronoun comes after the verb and is connected by a hyphen. For example: ‘Donne-le moi’ (Give it to me).
• However, in negative commands, the pronoun comes before the verb. For instance, ‘Ne le donne pas à lui’ (Don’t give it to him).
• The pronouns “me” and “te” change to “moi” and “toi” in affirmative commands after the verb. For example, ‘Parle-moi!’ (Speak to me!)
• The verbs “être” and “avoir” have irregular imperative forms. For “être”, use “sois” (tu), “soyons” (nous), and “soyez” (vous). For “avoir”, use “aie” (tu), “ayons” (nous), and “ayez” (vous).
• “Aller” is another irregular verb. Its imperative forms are “va” (tu), “allons” (nous), and “allez” (vous).
• Note that some verbs also have irregular imperative forms, such as “savoir” (know), which becomes “sache” (tu), “sachons” (nous), and “sachez” (vous) in the imperative.
• Lastly, there is no imperative for the first person singular (je).