The French Imperative
The French impératif(imperative) is a mode(mood) used to give commands or express desires. The imperative exists in two tenses in French: the présent de l'impératif(present imperative) and the less common passé de l'impératif(past imperative).
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In this article, you'll learn what the imperative mood is and when the present imperative and past imperative are used in French. You'll also learn about a unique characteristic of the affirmative imperative: the position of object pronouns to the right of the verb. Commençons !(Let's get started!)
Questions This Article Answers
What is the imperative mood?
How do you form commands in French?
When do you use the present imperative in French?
When do you use the past imperative in French?
Where do object pronouns appear in the imperative in French?
The Imperative Mood in French
The impératif(imperative) is a mode(mood) used to give commands or express desires. There are two different tenses for the imperative in French: the présent de l'impératif(present imperative) and the less common passé de l'impératif(past imperative).
The Present Imperative in French
To better understand the imperative mood, we can compare the imperative to another mood, the indicatif(indicative), which is used to indicate a statement of fact. Let's take a look at the following examples of the présent de l'indicatif(present indicative) with their present imperative counterpart:
The Indicative vs. the Imperative in French
Taking a closer look at the first example above, we can see that the indicative is stating a fact: you're playing the guitar at the present moment. In contrast, the imperative is giving a command or expressing a desire for you to play the guitar (as you're not currently doing so at the present moment!).
Unlike the indicative, the imperative can be conjugated for only three persons: tu(you), nous(we), and vous(you or you-all). You'll notice, however, that in the imperative, the subject is dropped off–just like in English!
Conjugating Verbs in the Present Imperative
The conjugations between the present imperative and present indicative are usually very similar! This makes creating the imperative relatively straightforward, as you mostly only have to drop the subject! However, there are some important differences in conjugations between the two moods! For example, you may have noticed noticed that there is no final -s on the tu form of the verb jouer(to play) in the imperative. You may have also noticed that the imperative form of the verb être(to be) is very different from the indicative form: êtesvs. soyez. (It's an irregular verb!)
Dive deeper into how to conjugate verbs in the present imperative!
The Past Imperative in French
The past imperative is used to give commands or express desires that are expected to have happened before some future moment. Let's look at a couple of examples of the past imperative in French:
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In each of the examples above, the action of the past imperative is expected to have happened before the future moment indicated by avant(before).
Learn more about the past imperative in French!
Object Pronouns in the Imperative in French
A unique characteristic of the affirmative imperative is that object pronouns are attached to the right of the verb with a trait d'union(hyphen). Since object pronouns normally precede the verb in French, the affirmative imperative is the only time object pronouns follow the verb! Take a look at how the position of the object pronoun in the affirmative imperative differs from its usual preverbal position (like in the affirmative indicative).
Object Pronouns in the Negative Imperative
Interestingly, object pronouns only follow the verb in the affirmative imperative! When the imperative is negated, object pronouns go back to their usual position preceding the verb. Check out how negation has an effect on the position of the object pronoun in the imperative!
Need Some Practice?
Try conjugating verbs in the impératif with our Conjugation Drill! With a little practice, the impératif will become a natural part of your conversations in French.
