Hi there,
I just did one test and I got a half score because I dropped an accent from an upper case É. I learnt that you don't put accents on upper case letters somewhere before. What is the correct way?
Thanks,
L'Impératif - the Imperative mood - is used to express commands, instructions and advice.
e.g. "Give me this!", "Listen carefully!"
Now look at these sentences in L'Impératif Présent:
Finis tes devoirs !
Finish your homework!
Finissons nos devoirs !
Let's finish our homework!
Finissez vos devoirs !
Finish your homework!
Viens au rendez-vous!
Come to the rendez-vous!
Choisis un endroit exceptionnel!
Choose an outstanding location!
Prenez vos manteaux, il fait froid dehors !
Take your coats, it's cold outside!
In French, L'Impératif has three main characteristics:
ATTENTION: Case of -ER verbs
Note that for all verbs ending in -ER (including aller), the -s is dropped at the end of the tu form.
The other forms (nous and vous) are regular.
Here are more -ER examples:
Donne-lui quelque chose !
Give him something!
Donnons une sucette à Paula !
Let's give Paula a lollipop!
Donnez-moi un baiser !
Give me a kiss!
Surveille ton frère !
Keep an eye on your brother!
And the more advanced:
Using "y" with affirmative commands (L'Impératif)
Using "en" with affirmative commands (L'Impératif)
Donnons une sucette à Paula !
Let's give Paula a lollipop!
Mets des sous-vêtements propres!
Juste au cas où...bonjour les traces de pneu!
Put on clean underwear!
Just in case... hellooo skid marks!
Réfléchissons une minute !
Let's just think for a minute !
Finissons nos devoirs !
Let's finish our homework!
Pensez à prendre du pain !
Think of getting some bread!
Viens au rendez-vous!
Come to the rendez-vous!
Prenez vos manteaux, il fait froid dehors !
Take your coats, it's cold outside!
Finis tes devoirs !
Finish your homework!
Allons au parc !
Let's go to the park!
Choisis un endroit exceptionnel!
Choose an outstanding location!
Donne-lui quelque chose !
Give him something!
Finissez vos devoirs !
Finish your homework!
Surveille ton frère !
Keep an eye on your brother!
Donnez-moi un baiser !
Give me a kiss!
Tu finis ta soupe. Finis ta soupe !
You're finishing your soup. Finish your soup.
Tu manges ton dessert. Mange ton dessert !
You're eating your dessert. Eat your dessert!
Hi there,
I just did one test and I got a half score because I dropped an accent from an upper case É. I learnt that you don't put accents on upper case letters somewhere before. What is the correct way?
Thanks,
Frequently, accents are omitted with upper case letters. The académie française, however, advises to use them. Take your pick -- you'll see both versions.
Hi there,
I just did one test and I got a half score because I dropped an accent from an upper case É. I learnt that you don't put accents on upper case letters somewhere before. What is the correct way?
Thanks,
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In Latin and English a future active indicative sometimes acts as an imperative command, like "Thou shalt not steal." I'm curious if there is any parallel to this in French? Thank you!
Hi Michael,
‘Thou shalt not steal ‘ as one of the ten commandments is -
‘Tu ne commettras pas de vol‘
and the future indicative is used too, it looks as it is the same in French...
Hope this helps
In Latin and English a future active indicative sometimes acts as an imperative command, like "Thou shalt not steal." I'm curious if there is any parallel to this in French? Thank you!
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When would the subjunctive be used in the imperative form?
Vive La France! is the expression that comes to mind.
Hi James,
In the expression 'Vive la France' or 'Que vive la France!', vive is the subjunctive of the verb vivre.
The imperative would be - vis, vivons, vivez , as in
Vis ta vie ! = Live your life!
Vivons au jour le jour! = Let's live one day at a time!
Vivez pour le moment! = Live for the moment!
Hope this helps!
Understandably so. But actually it means, "may France live" or "let France live".
When would the subjunctive be used in the imperative form?
Vive La France! is the expression that comes to mind.
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Chris and G, "aller" is irregular, but that's not the reason for the "s" in "vas-y". The reason is that "va(s)" precedes the vowel "y". The "s" is kept for euphony. Otherwise the imperative of "aller" in the second person is "va". ("Va-t'en" is an example. Note that this "t" isn't the euphonic "t". It's an actual pronoun, a contraction of "toi".)
It's the same for all "-er" verbs, including "aller". The "tu" form of the imperative keeps the "s" of the normal indicative form in front of "y" or "en", so we get "vas-y", "manges-en", etc.
(If you look back up at the lesson, it has "Va au lit !" as an example. Note that only "y" and "en" put the "s" back on the tu-imperative of "-er" verbs, and not just any word starting with a vowel.)
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Hi Eileen,
Finish our homework! ,would be
Finis/finnissez nos devoirs!
Nettoie/nettoyez nos chaussures! = Clean our shoes!
Hope this helps!
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