Making commands in French

Key points

The verb form for making commands in French is called the imperative.
For –er verbs the singular you form is formed by taking the tu form and dropping the –s.
The plural you form is exactly the same as the vous form of present tense.

When you want to tell someone to do something (as in Hurry up! or Be quiet!) you use a special form of the verb called the imperative. The most common forms of the imperative are as follows:

To one person (friend, parent...): donne!
To one person (teacher, manager...): donnez!
To many people: donnez!

For –er verbs the singular you form is formed by taking the tu form and dropping the –s. You use the singular form when you want to tell one person you're familiar with (like a friend) to do something:

Donne le livre à Anne

Give Anne the book

Montre les photos à Pierre

Show Pierre the photos

The plural you form is exactly the same as the vous form of present tense. You use the plural form when you want to ask more than one person to do something, or else if you’re talking to someone you don’t know very well:

Rangez votre chaise

Straighten your chair

When making commands with pronominal verbs then the reflexive pronoun comes after the verb. Notice that te becomes toi:

Tu t'assieds → Assieds-toi!

You sit down - Sit down

Vous vous levez → Levez-vous!

You get up - Get up!

Note

In reality the imperative sentences can sometimes sound a bit harsh, and it’s often best to 'soften' them by, for example, turning them into a question using vouloir:

Asseyez-vous! → Vous-voulez vous asseoir?

Sit down! - Would you like to sit down?

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