Imperative Mood

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Impératif

It’s imperative that you understand the imperative mood if you want to

• give orders
• make requests
• express desires
• provide recommendations
• offer advice
• prohibit actions

Affirmative commands

When telling someone to do something, you’re giving an affirmative command.

Par exemple…

Vouloir is used in the imperative for an especially polite order:

Imperative conjugations

Negative commands

Logically enough, telling someone not to do something is a negative command.

Word order

  Virtually all verb tenses and moods follow the same word order, with pronouns preceding the verb. Affirmative commands are the only exception: here the pronouns follow the verb and are connected by hyphens.

Par exemple…

As with all other verb constructions, when the object and reflexive pronouns me and te are followed by the adverbial pronouns en or y, they contract with those words.

Par exemple…

  Me and te use their stressed forms, moi and toi, in the affirmative imperative when they are at the end of the verbal construction.

Par exemple…

 Imperative Quizzes

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the French imperative with these fill-in-the-blanks exercises:

• Comment utiliser une cafetière à piston
• Conseils de prévention contre le coronavirus
• Recette de gel hydro-alcoolique
• Le règlement de la piscine

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!

 Related lessons

• Imperative conjugations
• Imperative lessons – PwLF super list
• Negative imperative
• Past imperative
• Giving orders
• Si clauses
• Verb mood

 French lesson plans

• Simon dit ! (Simon says!) (Lesson, 5th-8th grade)
     

 En español

• Imperativo
   

 In italiano

• Imperativo
   

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