Position of French object and adverbial pronouns in negative commands in the imperative mood (L'Impératif) in French

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2024-04-08
29 questions

In French, object and adverbial pronouns take a specific position in negative sentences in L'Impératif.

Object and adverbial pronouns in the negative form in L'Impératif Présent in French

Look at these negative imperatives:

Tu ne me le donnes pas -  Ne me le donne pas !You don't give it to me - Don't give it to me!

Nous n'en faisons pas. - N'en faisons pas !We're not making any (of it). - Let's not make any (of it)!

Tu ne la lui écris pas. - Ne la lui écris pas !You don't write it to her/him. - Don't write it to her/him!

Vous n'y allez pas. - N'y allez pas !You don't go there. - Don't go there!

When you use the negative imperative with object pronouns or adverbial pronouns (y, en), you keep the same order as in the normal negative sentence.
Note that you drop the subject pronoun tu/nous/vous

See Conjugate regular verbs in the imperative mood in French (L'Impératif)

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Examples and resources

Vous n'y allez pas. - N'y allez pas !You don't go there. - Don't go there!
Tu ne me le donnes pas -  Ne me le donne pas !You don't give it to me - Don't give it to me!
Nous n'en faisons pas. - N'en faisons pas !We're not making any (of it). - Let's not make any (of it)!
Tu ne la lui écris pas. - Ne la lui écris pas !You don't write it to her/him. - Don't write it to her/him!
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