The Imperative Mood (L’Impératif) in French

B1
grammar
imperatif
exercises
Author

Kunal Khurana

Published

May 15, 2025

Introduction

The imperative mood (l’impératif) is used to give commands, make requests, or offer advice in French. It is a key structure for everyday communication.

Forming the Imperative

The imperative is formed using the present tense, but only with three persons:

  • tu (you, singular/informal)
  • nous (we, let’s)
  • vous (you, plural/formal)

Note: The subject pronoun is omitted in the imperative.

Regular Verbs

-ER Verbs

  • For tu, drop the final -s from the present tense form.
  • For nous and vous, use the regular present tense forms.

Examples: - Parler (to speak):
- (tu) Parle !
- (nous) Parlons !
- (vous) Parlez !

-IR and -RE Verbs

  • Use the present tense forms for tu, nous, and vous.

Examples: - Finir (to finish):
- (tu) Finis !
- (nous) Finissons !
- (vous) Finissez !

  • Attendre (to wait):
    • (tu) Attends !
    • (nous) Attendons !
    • (vous) Attendez !

Negative Form

Place ne before the verb and pas after.

  • Ne parle pas ! (Don’t speak!)
  • N’attendons pas ! (Let’s not wait!)

Les verbes pronominaux (Reflexive Verbs)

For reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun comes after the verb and is connected with a hyphen.

  • Lève-toi ! (Get up!)
  • Levons-nous ! (Let’s get up!)
  • Levez-vous ! (Get up!)

Negative: The reflexive pronoun goes before the verb.

  • Ne te lève pas !
  • Ne nous levons pas !
  • Ne vous levez pas !

Exercices

1. Conjugate the following verbs in the imperative (tu, nous, vous):

  1. parler
  2. finir
  3. attendre
  4. aller
  5. avoir

2. Change the sentences to the negative imperative form:

  1. Parle ! →
  2. Finissons ! →
  3. Attendez ! →
  4. Va ! →
  5. Ayez ! →

3. Complete with the correct imperative form for reflexive verbs:

  1. (tu) se lever →
  2. (nous) se dépêcher →
  3. (vous) se reposer →
  4. (tu, negative) se coucher →
  5. (nous, negative) se taire →

More Examples with Irregular Verbs

Here are some common expressions using the imperative with irregular verbs:

  • Aie confiance en toi ! (Have confidence in yourself!)
  • Sache écouter les autres. (Know how to listen to others.)
  • Veuillez patienter un instant. (Please wait a moment.)
  • Soyons prudents ! (Let’s be careful!)