Commands
Telling someone to do something: Écoute !, Prenez la première rue !, and Allons-y ! at Higher.
Learn
Commands, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Give a command with the tu form
Use the tu form of the present without tu: finis tes devoirs, prends ton manteau. -er verbs, and ouvrir, drop their s: regarde, écoute, ouvre la porte.
Give a command with the vous form
For an adult you do not know well, or for a group, use the vous form without vous: tournez à gauche, ouvrez vos livres, attendez ici.
Learn va, allez, fais and faites
Aller gives va and allez, with no s on va: va dans ta chambre. Faire gives fais attention and faites vos devoirs.
Tell someone not to do something
Put ne and pas round the verb: ne cours pas, ne parlez pas. Nothing else changes.
Give and follow directions
Directions use the vous command: prenez la deuxième rue à droite, allez tout droit, traversez le pont. In a role-play or a listening, the verb at the start of each instruction tells you what to do.
Use sois and soyezHigher only
The command forms of être are irregular: sois sage (be good), to a child or a friend, and soyez à l'heure (be on time), to an adult or a group.
Say let's with the nous formHigher only
The nous form without nous means let's: allons au parc, mangeons, commençons.
Commands key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Imperative
- The form of the verb for commands and instructions: écoutez means listen.
- tu command
- A command to one person you know well, made from the tu form: viens ici means come here.
- vous command
- A command to an adult or to a group, made from the vous form: répétez, s'il vous plaît means repeat, please.
- allez
- Go, to an adult or a group, and also come on, said to encourage: allez, les Bleus cheers on a French team.
- fais attention
- Be careful, to a friend, from faire. To an adult or a group it is faites attention.
- Negative command
- A command not to do something, with ne and pas round the verb: ne crie pas means don't shout.
- sois and soyezHigher only
- Be, the commands from être, for one friend and for an adult or a group: soyez patients.
- Let'sHigher only
- The nous form without nous, as in partons (let's go) or jouons (let's play).
Common mistakes in Commands
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Keeping the s on an -er verb, as in regardes for look.
In a tu command, -er verbs and aller lose the s: regarde, écoute, va. Other verbs keep it: finis, prends.
Keeping the pronoun, as in tu tournes à gauche for turn left.
A command has no subject pronoun: tourne à gauche, or tournez à gauche to an adult.
Using a tu command with an adult in a role-play.
To an adult you do not know, such as a receptionist, use the vous form: attendez, prenez, répétez.
Leaving out pas, as in ne regarde for don't look.
A negative command needs both parts round the verb: ne regarde pas, ne partez pas.
Making a command from être with es or êtes, as in êtes calmes.Higher only
Être has command forms of its own: sois calme to a friend, soyez calmes to a group.
Practice
Try a Commands question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which command completes the sentence? ___ ton petit frère, il est tout seul !
- Aides
- Aide
- Aidez
- Aider
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Aide
Ton shows you are speaking to one person you know, so the tu command, which drops the s: aide ton petit frère, help your little brother.
- Ton shows tu.
- Tu aides becomes aide.
- So Aide ton petit frère.