How do I form a positive imperative command in French?

The French imperative is used to give commands and is formed differently depending on whether you are using the tunous or vous form.

To form a positive command in the nous or vous forms, just take the present tense form of that verb and delete the subject (ie. the nous or the vous).

For example, this means that the vous imperative form of ouvrir would be "ouvrez", and the nous imperative form of the same verb would be "ouvrons". 

Note that the nous form of the imperative takes a suggestive meaning: "let's open" for example.

The formation of a tu command is slightly different. As for the vous and nous forms, you take the present tense form of the verb and delete the subject (tu). However, if this form happens to end in es or as, then the final s must be deleted.

For example, if we take the verb aller: the tu form of the present tense is vas, which ends in "as" and so this final s must be deleted. This means that the imperative tu form for aller is "va".

On the other hand, for the verb finir, the tu form of the present tense is finis, which does not end in either "as" or "es" and therefore the s is retained. This means that the imperative tu form for finir is "finis".

Watch out, there are four verbs with irregular imperative forms: être, avoir, savoir and vouloir.

être

tu: sois   vous: soyez   nous: soyons

avoir

tu: aie   vous: ayez   nous: ayons

savoir

tu:   sache   vous: sachez   nous: sachons

vouloir

tu: veuille   vous: veuillez 

Note: the imperative of nous for the verb vouloir is not used.

KW
Answered by Katie W. French tutor

24164 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

La cigarette est un vrai problème chez les jeunes. Which social issue is being mentioned here?


"Aujourd'hui je suis allée à la pâtisserie avec ma mère afin d'acheter un gateau de fête pour ma sœur aînée, Izabelle." Answer the following questions. 1. Where did she go today? 2. Who did she go with? 3. What did they do there?


Qu'est-ce que tu as fait l'été dernier ?


How can I make the difference between the 'passé simple' and the 'imparfait'


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning