{"id":118193,"date":"2023-04-05T12:35:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T16:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/french-imperative\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T05:28:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T10:28:18","slug":"french-imperative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-imperative\/","title":{"rendered":"The French Imperative Mood and How to Use It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The imperative mood is used for <strong>giving orders or making requests<\/strong> and suggestions. In French, it only comes in the\u00a0<em>tu, vous<\/em>\u00a0or <em>nous<\/em> form, but <strong>without a subject<\/strong> (who&#8217;s doing the action).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s have a look at how to use it properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>When to Use the French Imperative<\/h2>\n<p>Not sure when to employ French commands? In a nutshell, commands are used to\u00a0<strong>request, recommend or just be bossy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Use the French imperative to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Order someone to do something.\u00a0<\/strong>Example:<em> Va \u00e0 la p\u00e2tisserie. <\/em> (Go to the pastry shop.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Give someone a suggestion or advice.\u00a0<\/strong>Example: <em>Restez patient quand tu fais la queue. <\/em> (Stay patient when you get in line.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make a recommendation.\u00a0<\/strong>Example: <em>Choisis le pain au chocolat. <\/em> (Choose the pain au chocolat.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make a request.\u00a0<\/strong>Example:<em> Donne-moi le pain au chocolat que tu as achet\u00e9 chez le p\u00e2tissier. <\/em> (Give me the pain au chocolat that you bought at the pastry shop.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Communicate your wishes.\u00a0<\/strong>Example: <em>Allons \u00e0 la p\u00e2tisserie pour acheter plus de pains au chocolat. \u00a0<\/em>(Let\u2019s go to the pastry shop to buy more chocolate sweet rolls.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>French commands are meant to grab your attention, and you need to remember just three conjugated forms <em>(tu,<\/em> <em>nous<\/em> and <em>vous<\/em>). They\u2019re often the same conjugations found in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-present-tense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">present indicative<\/a>\u2014which is likely the first French verb tense you ever learned, and one you use frequently.<\/p>\n<h2>Imperative Conjugations<\/h2>\n<p>The imperative mood is only conjugated for three\u00a0grammatical persons:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>tu<\/em><\/strong> (second person singular for the informal &#8220;you&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>vous<\/em><\/strong> (second person formal for &#8220;you&#8221; or the second person plural &#8220;you all&#8221;)\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>nous<\/em><\/strong> (first person plural &#8220;we&#8221;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><em>-er<\/em> verbs<\/h3>\n<p>For <strong>regular <em>-er<\/em> verbs<\/strong>, the <i>tu<\/i> form of the imperative is the same as the indicative minus the final <strong><em>s<\/em><\/strong>. The imperative conjugations for <i>nous<\/i> and <i>vous<\/i> are the exact same as the present indicative.<\/p>\n<p>Piece of cake, right? Let&#8217;s take a look at some examples:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>donner  <\/em>(to give)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) donne <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Donne cette lettre \u00e0 Christian, s&#8217;il te pla\u00eet. <\/em> <br \/>\nGive this letter to Christian, please.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) donnons <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Donnons les livres que nous ne lisons plus \u00e0 la biblioth\u00e8que. <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s give the books we don&#8217;t read anymore to the library.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) donnez <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Donnez\u00a0votre nom complet. <\/em> <br \/>\nGive your full name.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>manger  <\/em>(to<\/strong> <strong>eat)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) mange <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Mange ta soupe. <\/em> <br \/>\nEat your soup.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) mangeons <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Mangeons avant de sortir. <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s eat before going out.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) mangez <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Mangez ce que vous voulez. <\/em> <br \/>\nEat what you want.<\/p>\n<p>Note: When the\u00a0<i>tu<\/i> command of an <em>-er<\/em> is followed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/en-and-y-in-french\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the pronoun <em>y<\/em> or <em>en<\/em><\/a>, the final <em>s<\/em> is <strong>not<\/strong> dropped from the verb conjugation.<em><strong> Manges-en <\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(eat some) is a case in point.<\/p>\n<h3><em>-re<\/em> verbs<\/h3>\n<p>The imperative conjugations for <strong>regular <em>-re<\/em> verbs<\/strong>\u00a0are the same as for the present infinitive conjugations. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>descendre <\/em> (to descend)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) descends <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Descends tout de suite ! <\/em> <br \/>\nCome down right away!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) descendons <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Descendons cette montagne lentement. <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s descend this mountain slowly.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) descendez <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Descendez la c\u00f4te. <\/em> <br \/>\nGo down the hill.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>vendre <\/em> (to sell)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) vends <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Vends ton v\u00e9lo ; il est trop petit pour toi. <\/em> <br \/>\nSell your bike; it&#8217;s too small for you.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) vendons <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Vendons notre maison ; elle est trop grande pour nous deux. <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s sell our house; it&#8217;s too big for the two of us.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) vendez <\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Vendez vos tableaux plus chers ; ils sont magnifiques ! <\/em> <br \/>\nSell your paintings for more money; they&#8217;re great!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>prendre <\/em> (to take)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) prends \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Prends ton temps. <br \/>\n<\/em>Take your time.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>(nous) prenons <\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><em><br \/>\nPrenons une sieste. Je suis \u00e9puis\u00e9 ! <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s take a nap. I&#8217;m exhausted!<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) prenez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Prenez vos m\u00e9dicaments apr\u00e8s manger. <br \/>\n<\/em>Take your medicine after eating.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note: Although\u00a0<em>prendre\u00a0<\/em>is an irregular <em>-re<\/em> verb, in the case of the imperative mood, it follows a &#8220;regular&#8221; pattern.<\/p>\n<h3><em>-ir<\/em> verbs<\/h3>\n<p>Conjugating <strong>regular <em>-ir<\/em> verbs<\/strong> in the imperative mood is also the\u00a0same as the present indicative conjugations of the\u00a0<em>tu, nous\u00a0<\/em>and <em>vous<\/em> forms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>finir <\/em> (to finish)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) finis \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Finis ton petit-d\u00e9jeuner. <br \/>\n<\/em>Finish your breakfast.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) finissons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Finissons ce film plus tard. <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s finish this movie later.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) finissez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Finissez le g\u00e2teau sans moi. <br \/>\n<\/em>Finish the cake without me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>choisir <\/em> (to choose)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) choisis \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Choisis une date qui te convient. <br \/>\n<\/em>Choose a date that works for you.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) choisissons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Choisissons un plat piquant \u00e0 manger. <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s choose a spicy dish to eat.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) choisissez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Choisissez judicieusement. <br \/>\n<\/em>Choose wisely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>partir <\/em> (to leave)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) pars \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Pars d&#8217;ici ! <br \/>\n<\/em>Get out of here!<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) partons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Partons loin d&#8217;ici. <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s get [far] away from here.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) partez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Partez d&#8217;ici \u00e0 midi. <br \/>\n<\/em>Leave here at noon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note:\u00a0Although\u00a0<em>partir<\/em>\u00a0is an irregular verb, it behaves &#8220;regularly&#8221; in the imperative mood.<\/p>\n<p>Got it? Good. Now let&#8217;s move on to some exceptions!\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Irregular Verbs<\/h3>\n<p>Here is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-irregular-verbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">present indicative<\/a> and how it works.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>aller  <\/strong><\/em><strong>(<\/strong><strong>to go)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) va \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Va t&#8217;allonger dans ta chambre. <br \/>\n<\/em>Go lie down in your room.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) allons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Allons nous promener un petit peu. <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s walk for a bit.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) allez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Allez au march\u00e9. <br \/>\n<\/em>Go to the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note: When the\u00a0<i>tu<\/i> command of <em>aller<\/em> is followed by the pronoun <em>y<\/em>,\u00a0the final <em>s<\/em> is not dropped from the verb conjugation. This is why you&#8217;d say<em><strong> Vas-y <\/strong><\/em> (Go ahead!).<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>avoir  <\/em>(to have)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) aie \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Aie confiance dans tes instincts. <br \/>\n<\/em>Have faith in your instincts.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) ayons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Ayons confiance dans nos capacit\u00e9s. <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s trust our abilities.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) ayez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Ayez une attitude positive. <br \/>\n<\/em>Have a positive attitude.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>\u00eatre  <\/em>(to be)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) sois \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Sois \u00e0 l&#8217;heure ! <br \/>\n<\/em>Be on time!<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) soyons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Soyons calme ! <br \/>\n<\/em>Let&#8217;s be calm!<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) soyez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Soyez vigilant ! <br \/>\n<\/em>Be vigilant!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>savoir  <\/em>(to know)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>(tu) sache \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Sache que je suis l\u00e0 pour toi. <br \/>\n<\/em>Know that I&#8217;m here for you.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(nous) sachons \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Sachons garder notre calme. <br \/>\n<\/em>(Literally translates to &#8220;Let&#8217;s know how to keep our calm,&#8221; but it means &#8220;Let&#8217;s keep calm.&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>(vous) sachez \n<p><\/strong><\/em><em>Sachez qu&#8217;on vous \u00e9coute. <br \/>\n<\/em>Know that we&#8217;re listening to you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>vouloir  <\/em>(to want to)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Vouloir<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is a bit of a doozy. Only the\u00a0<em><strong>vous<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>form of the imperative is used in everyday speech and it is used to construct several <em><strong>formules de politesse \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(polite forms of address) in French.<\/p>\n<p>In the context of formal email exchange, for example, it is not uncommon to see:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Veuillez trouver ci-joint&#8230; <\/em> <br \/>\nPlease find attached&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>When you enter establishments like banks or doctor&#8217;s offices, a\u00a0secretary\u00a0may tell you:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Veuillez patienter dans la salle d&#8217;attente. <\/em> <br \/>\nPlease wait in the waiting room.<\/p>\n<h2>Imperative Word Order<\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at the imperative word order when dealing with the negative form and\u00a0pronouns.<\/p>\n<h3>Negative Form<\/h3>\n<p>Forming the negative imperative, in which you tell someone <strong>not<\/strong> to do something, is rather easy: just put the negative structure around the pronouns and the verb:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em><strong>Ne\u00a0<\/strong>pars\u00a0<strong>pas<\/strong> tout de suite !\u00a0<\/em> <br \/>\nDon&#8217;t leave right away!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em><strong>Ne<\/strong>\u00a0sois\u00a0<strong>pas<\/strong> en retard !\u00a0<\/em> <br \/>\nDon&#8217;t be late!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em><strong>Ne<\/strong>\u00a0mangeons\u00a0<strong>pas<\/strong>\u00a0trop ! <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s not eat too much!<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Here&#8217;s a quick refresher on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-object-pronouns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">direct and indirect object pronouns<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>direct object<\/strong> is a person or a thing that receives the action of the verb. Direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns. They must reflect the gender and quantity of the noun they replace.<\/p>\n<p>An <strong>indirect object <\/strong>refers to the noun to\/for whom the action of the verb is occurring. An indirect object is usually preceded by<em><strong> pour <\/strong><\/em> (for) or <em><strong>\u00e0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(to, at). The indirect object responds to the question &#8220;To whom?&#8221; or &#8220;For whom?&#8221; Indirect object pronouns replace the indirect object.<\/p>\n<p>In the affirmative imperative, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-pronouns\/#:~:text=me%2C%20te%2C%20se%2C%20nous%20and%20vous%20are%20the%20pronouns,pronominal)%20verbs%20as%20shown%20below.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the pronouns<\/a> follow the verb and are connected with hyphens. Let&#8217;s take a look:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Mangez le sandwich !  <\/em>(Eat the sandwich!) becomes <em>Mangez-<strong>le !<\/strong> <\/em> (Eat <strong>it<\/strong>!)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Lisez la deuxi\u00e8me page ! <\/em> (Read the second page!) becomes <em>Lisez-<strong>la !<\/strong> <\/em> (Read <strong>it<\/strong>!)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Lisons le livre ensemble ! <\/em> (Let&#8217;s read the book together!) becomes <em>Lisons-<strong>le !<\/strong> <\/em> (Let&#8217;s read <strong>it!<\/strong>)<\/p>\n<p>The pronouns<em><strong> me <\/strong><\/em> and <strong><em>te \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>change to<em><strong> moi \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>and <strong><em>toi \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in the imperative form:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Laisse-<strong>moi<\/strong> tranquille. <\/em> <br \/>\nLeave <strong>me<\/strong> alone.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Regarde-<strong>toi<\/strong> dans le miroir. <\/em> <br \/>\nLook at <strong>yourself<\/strong> in the mirror.<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s move on to a trickier case\u2014when a sentence has both a direct object and an indirect object. The order of pronouns differs for the affirmative imperative and the negative imperative.<\/p>\n<p>For the affirmative imperative, the order of direct object and indirect object pronouns is as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em><strong>le, la, les\/moi, toi, lui\/nous, vous, leur\/y\/en<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Offrons <strong>le cadeau<\/strong> <strong>\u00e0 Marie et Jean !\u00a0<\/strong><\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s give the gift to Marie and Jean!<\/p>\n<p>In this sentence, the gift is the direct object and Marie and Jean are the indirect objects. With pronouns, the sentence becomes:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Offrons-<strong>le-leur\u00a0<\/strong>! <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s give <strong>it<\/strong> <strong>to<\/strong> <strong>them!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the negative imperative, the negative structures <em><strong>ne&#8230; pas <\/strong> <\/em>(not) and<em><strong> ne&#8230; jamais \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(never) surround the pronouns and the verb. There are no hyphens, and the order of the direct and indirect object pronouns is a bit different:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em><b>me<\/b>,\u00a0<b>te, nous, vous\/le, la, les\/lui, leur\/y\/en<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>N&#8217;offrons pas <strong>le cadeau \u00e0 Marie et Jean.<\/strong> <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s not give the present to Marie and Jean.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>Ne <strong>le leur<\/strong> offrons pas ! <\/em> <br \/>\nLet&#8217;s not give <strong>it<\/strong> <strong>to<\/strong> <strong>them!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to Practice the French Imperative<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Try out these online resources for getting the hang of the French imperative:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quia.com\/shared\/french\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Quia<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>has at least 7,500 quizzes about French that are made by teachers all over the world. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quia.com\/quiz\/294343.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one exercise<\/a>, you\u2019ll translate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/reflexive-verb-conjugation-french\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reflexive\u00a0<em>tu<\/em> commands<\/a> into French. Here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quia.com\/quiz\/1896729.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">another exercise<\/a> that\u2019s more story-based, where you\u2019ll use the causative imperative to tell your sister how to show visitors around town.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/conjuguemos.com\/verb\/memory\/28%22%20\/t\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Conjuguemos<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0teaches you how to do French conjugation through games.\u00a0Practice negative <em>tu<\/em> commands with <a href=\"https:\/\/conjuguemos.com\/verb\/memory\/28%22%20\/t\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this timed game<\/a> hosted by a Caribbean <em>grenouille<\/em> (frog), complete with several levels! For conjugating <em>nous<\/em> commands, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/conjuguemos.com\/verb\/homework\/27#dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this exercise<\/a>, which also covers negatives and reflexives.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tolearnfrench.com\/exercises\/exercise-french-2\/exercise-french-4155.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ToLearnFrench.com<\/strong><\/a> has tons of French exercises to choose from. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tolearnfrench.com\/exercises\/exercise-french-2\/exercise-french-4155.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This exercise<\/a> will teach you how to use French commands in common conversational situations. Each multiple-choice drop-down presents very similar choices\u2014sometimes only a single letter different\u2014but there\u2019s only one correct choice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Whew! That&#8217;s all folks!<\/p>\n<p><em>R\u00e9visez bien l&#8217;imp\u00e9ratif  <\/em>(study the imperative well), and your French will immediately sound more confident and poised.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\n\tIf you like learning French at your own pace and from the comfort of your device, I have to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tell you about FluentU<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU makes it easier (and way more fun) to learn French by making real content like movies and series accessible to learners. You can check out FluentU's curated video library, or <strong>bring our learning tools directly to Netflix or YouTube<\/strong> with the FluentU Chrome extension. \r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2097\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-French-video-library-in-app.jpg\" alt=\"learn-french-with-videos\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nOne of the features I find most helpful is the <strong>interactive captions<\/strong>\u2014you can tap on any word to see its meaning, an image, pronunciation, and other examples from different contexts. It\u2019s a great way to pick up French vocab without having to pause and look things up separately.\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2099\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-French-video-with-interactive-subtitles-web.jpg\" alt=\"learn-french-with-movies\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU also helps <strong>reinforce what you\u2019ve learned<\/strong> with personalized quizzes. You can swipe through extra examples and complete engaging exercises that adapt to your progress. You'll get extra practice with the words you find more challenging and even be reminded you when it\u2019s time to review!\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2102\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/French-7.png\" alt=\"practice-french-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can use FluentU on your computer, tablet, or phone with our app for Apple or Android devices. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The imperative mood is used for giving orders or making requests and suggestions. In French, it only comes in the\u00a0tu, vous\u00a0or nous form, but without a subject (who&#8217;s doing the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":248592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"The French Imperative Mood and How to Use It | FluentU French Blog","description":"Use the French imperative confidently with this clear and comprehensive guide! Learn how to conjugate different types of verbs into their imperative form, including common irregular verbs. We'll also look at other important grammar concepts, such as negative verb forms and using direct and indirect object pronouns."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[570,577,584],"tags":[],"coauthors":[669],"class_list":["post-118193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french","category-french-grammar","category-tenses-and-conjugation-french-grammar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118193"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247342,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118193\/revisions\/247342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118193"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=118193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}