Imperatives of Regular Verbs in French

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Hey, today we´ll be talking about imperatives of regular verbs in French. Imperatives are used to make commands, give instructions and orders. There are imperative forms in the second person singular, second person plural and first person plural. The second person plural is also used as the formal form if you talk to someone you are not on first name terms with.

What all imperatives have in common is that they are used without the subject pronouns. Also, they are all based on the Present Tense indicative forms.

They have different forms depending on which group the verb belongs to, so we are now going to discuss one by one the imperative forms of verbs whose infinitives end in –er, -ir and –re.

Imperatives of Verbs Ending in -er

So, let’s start with the –er verbs. In the second person singular we drop the final –s. The other two forms are identical with their indicative counterparts. Have a look:

parler – to speak

2^nd person singular	tu parles	you speak	parle!	speak!
2^nd person plural	vous parlez	you speak	parlez!	speak!
1^st person plural	nous parlons	we speak	parlons!	let’s speak!

Here are some examples with these three imperative forms.

chanter	Chantons quelque chose.	Let’s sing something.
regarder	Regardez le tableau.	Look at the picture.
rester	Restez à la maison.	Stay at home.
penser	Pense à tes parents.	Think about your parents.
écouter	Écoute cette chanson.	Listen to this song.

Imperatives of Verbs Ending in -ir

Now let’s have a look at the –ir verbs. Here it’s even easier because all three forms are identical with their indicative counterparts. Have a look:

bâtir – to build

2^nd person singular	tu bâtis	you build	bâtis!	build!
2^nd person plural	vous bâtissez	you build	bâtissez!	build!
1^st person plural	nous bâtissons	we build	bâtissons!	let’s build!

And again some examples:

nourrir	Nourrissons la girafe.	Let’s feed the giraffe.
finir	Finissez vos devoirs.	Finish your homework.
choisir	Choisissons une voiture.	Let’s choose a car.
obéir	Obéis à tes parents.	Obey your parents.
agir	Agissons vite.	Let’s act quickly.

Imperatives of Verbs Ending in -re

Finally, let’s have a look at the –re verbs. These are just as easy. Have a look:

attendre – to wait

2^nd person singular	tu attends	you wait	attends!	wait!
2^nd person plural	vous attendez	you wait	attendez!	wait!
1^st person plural	nous attendons	we wait	attendons!	let’s wait!

And some examples:

descendre	Descendons l’escalier.	Let’s go down the stairs.
vendre	Vends ta voiture.	Sell your car.
répondre	Réponds à mes questions.	Answer my questions.
défendre	Défendez vos amis.	Defend your friends.
étendre	Étendons nos recherches.	Let’s expand our search.

Negative imperatives

Negative imperatives are very easy to make. All you need to do is add ne…pas, just like with indicatives. Have a look:

Parlons.	Let’s talk.
Ne parlons pas.	Let’s not talk.

Attendez votre cousin.	Wait for your cousin.
N’attendez pas votre cousin.	Don’t wait for your cousin.

Réponds à ma question.	Answer my question.
Ne réponds pas à ma question.	Don’t answer my question.

INFO

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