Impératif
Summary
The imperative is the mood for giving orders, instructions and advice; it exists only in the tu, nous and vous forms, has no subject pronoun, and places object pronouns after the verb in affirmative commands.
Explanation
The impératif is the mood used to give commands, instructions, requests and suggestions. Unlike other moods it has only three persons — tu, nous and vous — and it drops the subject pronoun entirely: Parle ! (Speak!), Parlons ! (Let's speak!), Parlez ! (Speak!, formal/plural). The nous form characteristically means 'let's …'. There is no je or il/ils imperative.
Formation is built on the present indicative. For most verbs you simply take the present-tense tu, nous and vous forms and remove the pronoun: finir gives finis, finissons, finissez; prendre gives prends, prenons, prenez. The one regular adjustment is for -er verbs (and aller): the tu form loses its final -s, so tu parles becomes Parle ! and tu vas becomes Va !. That -s reappears before the pronouns y and en for pronunciation: Vas-y !, Manges-en !.
When is it used? Everywhere instructions are given: recipes (Mélangez les œufs), directions (Tournez à gauche), advice (Repose-toi), signs and warnings (N'entrez pas), and polite requests softened with s'il te/vous plaît. Because it is so direct, the vous form doubles as the polite imperative, and French often prefers a softer turn (Pourriez-vous… ?) in very formal contexts.
Pronoun placement is the main trap, because it differs between affirmative and negative commands. In the affirmative, object pronouns follow the verb and are attached with hyphens, and the weak forms me and te become the stressed moi and toi: Donne-le-moi ! (Give it to me!), Lève-toi ! (Get up!). In the negative, the pronouns return to their ordinary position before the verb and revert to me/te: Ne me le donne pas !, Ne te lève pas !. A few verbs are irregular: être (sois, soyons, soyez), avoir (aie, ayons, ayez), savoir (sache, sachons, sachez) and vouloir (veuillez, used for polite requests).
Rule of thumb: take the present tu/nous/vous form, drop the pronoun (and the final -s of -er verbs), then for affirmative commands put object pronouns after the verb with hyphens and use moi/toi — but for negative commands keep the normal pre-verb order with me/te.
Examples
Ferme la porte, s'il te plaît. — Close the door, please. (-er verb: the tu form drops its -s (ferme).)
Ne sois pas en retard ! — Don't be late! (Sois is the irregular tu imperative of être.)
Donne-le-moi ! — Give it to me! (Affirmative: pronouns follow the verb; me becomes moi.)
Ne me le donne pas ! — Don't give it to me! (Negative: pronouns return before the verb and revert to me.)
Vas-y, finissons ce travail ! — Go on, let's finish this work! (Va takes its -s back before y (Vas-y); finissons is the nous 'let's' form.)
Common mistakes
Me donne le livre !
Donne-le-moi !
In an affirmative command the object pronouns follow the verb, joined by hyphens, and me/te become moi/toi: Donne-le-moi ! Placing the pronoun before the verb ("Me donne le livre") is the negative/indicative pattern and is wrong here. Note the order in the affirmative is verb + direct object + indirect object (le before moi).
Prerequisites
Related rules
moodimperativecommandspronoun-placement