A2.36 - From post office to email

The imperative: affirmative form

L'impératif : forme affirmative

L'impératif est utilisé pour donner des ordres, des conseils ou des souhaits. Exemple : 'Écoute' ou 'Fais attention'. Il se forme sans sujet.

(The imperative is used to give orders, advice, or wishes. Example: “Écoute” or “Fais attention”. It is formed without a subject.)

What the imperative is (and why French only has 3 forms)

Use l’impératif to give an order, instruction, advice, or a suggestion.

  • Tu = to one person you know well (informal)
  • Nous = “let’s …” (suggestion / decision together)
  • Vous = to several people OR to one person politely (formal)

Key signal: the imperative has no subject pronoun (no tu / nous / vous written).

How to form it quickly (the shortcut that works most of the time)

Take the present tense forms and remove the subject.

Person Start from present Imperative
tu tu parles Parle !
nous nous partons Partons !
vous vous répondez Répondez !

The common trap: -er verbs in “tu” (no -s)

For most -er verbs, the tu imperative drops the -s.

  • Envoyer → Envoie ! (Envoyes !)
  • Parler → Parle ! (Parles !)

Self-check: if the verb ends in -er, your “tu” imperative usually ends with -e.

Other verb groups: what you should “hear” in the ending

These follow the normal present tense endings:

  • -ir like partir: Pars ! / Partons ! / Partez !
  • -re like attendre, répondre: Attends ! / Attendons ! / Attendez !

Self-check: if you see -ds / -s in the present (tu), it usually stays: tu attends → Attends !

Irregular imperatives you must know (high frequency)

Verb tu nous vous
aller Va ! Allons ! Allez !
faire Fais ! Faisons ! Faites !
dire Dis ! Disons ! Dites !

Common mistake: mixing with present tense: Tu vas… (present) vs Va… ! (imperative).

Choosing tu / nous / vous in professional contexts

  • Vous: standard for clients, colleagues you don’t know well, meetings, email instructions.
  • Tu: only if the relationship is clearly informal.
  • Nous: for teamwork and proposals: Partons maintenant. / Répondons tout de suite.

Final checklist before you answer

  1. No subject: remove tu / nous / vous.
  2. Correct person: is it one person (tu), a group/polite (vous), or “let’s” (nous)?
  3. -er + tu: make sure there is no -s (e.g., Envoie !).
  4. Irregular: if it’s aller / faire / dire, use the special forms.
  1. There are only three persons: tu, nous, vous.
  2. For –er verbs, you do not add s in the 2nd person singular.
Personne (Person)ParlerPartirAttendre (Wait)Répondre
TuParle ! (Speak!)Pars ! (Leave!)Attends ! (Wait!)Réponds ! (Reply!)
NousParlons ! (Let’s speak!)Partons ! (Let’s leave!)Attendons ! (Let’s wait!)Répondons ! (Let’s reply!)
VousParlez ! (Speak!)Partez ! (Leave!)Attendez ! (Wait!)Répondez ! (Reply!)

Exceptions!

  1. Some verbs have an irregular imperative. Aller: Va ! Allons ! Allez !; Faire: Fais ! Faisons ! Faites !; Dire: Dis ! Disons ! Dites !

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. _____ un ticket et attendez votre tour, s'il vous plaît.

_____ a ticket and wait your turn, please.

2. _____ ce mail maintenant et ajoute la pièce jointe.

_____ this email now and add the attachment.

3. _____ à la boîte aux lettres et poste cette carte postale.

_____ to the mailbox and mail this postcard.

4. _____ attention au clavier et sauvegardez le document.

_____ careful with the keyboard and save the document.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite each sentence in the form of a command, piece of advice, or wish using the imperative (tu / nous / vous), without the subject. Example: Tu attends ici. → Attends ici.

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Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Hint Hint ((tu)) Tu parles plus lentement, s'il te plaît.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Parle plus lentement, s'il te plaît.
    (Speak more slowly, please.)
  2. Hint Hint ((nous)) Nous partons maintenant, il est tard.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Partons maintenant, il est tard.
    (Let’s leave now, it’s late.)
  3. Hint Hint ((vous)) Vous attendez ici cinq minutes.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Attendez ici cinq minutes.
    (Wait here five minutes.)
  4. Hint Hint ((tu)) Tu réponds à ce mail avant midi.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Réponds à ce mail avant midi.
    (Reply to this email before noon.)

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Marco De Faria

Master in Foreign Languages

University of Poitiers

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France


Last Updated:

Thursday, 07/05/2026 09:00