35) The imperative – giving orders

Finissez  Finish

Finissons Let’s finish

Finissons vite Let’s finish quickly

Maintenant Now

Finissons maintenant Let’s finish now

Finissons-le maintenant Let’s finish it now (pronoun coming after)

Ne le finissons pas maintenant Let’s not finish it now (pronoun before – same as usual)

Attendez wait

Attendons Let’s wait

Attendons ici Let’s wait here

Attendons-moi Let’s wait for me

Attendez-moi Wait for me

Attendez-nous Wait for us

Ne nous attendez pas Don’t wait for us

When the imperative pushes the pronoun to the end of the sentence, me becomes moi

Ecouter To listen

Ecoutez Listen

Ecoutons Let’s listen

Ecoutez-moi Listen to me

Ne m’ecoutez pas Don’t listen to me

Ne l’ecoutez pas Don’t listen to him

There are four verbs that are irregular in the imperative: avoir, etre, savoir and vouloir. When giving orders, etre is the most common of these, so let’s learn that one know and we’ll look at the others later.

Soyez vite Be quick

Soyons vite Let’s be quick

Ne soyez pas vite Don’t be quick

Ne soyons pas vite Let’s not be quick