Three persons, without a subject pronoun: tu, nous, vous. The forms come from the present: Tu prends → Prends ! (Take!) Nous partons → Partons ! (Let's go!) Vous venez → Venez ! (Come!)
Verbs in -er (and ouvrir, offrir…): no -s in the « tu » form: Tu parles → Parle ! (Speak!) Tu vas → Va ! (Go!) But the -s comes back before y and en, for the liaison: Vas-y ! (Go on!) Manges-en ! (Eat some!)
| infinitive | tu | nous | vous |
|---|---|---|---|
| être | sois | soyons | soyez |
| avoir | aie | ayons | ayez |
| savoir | sache | sachons | sachez |
| vouloir | — | — | veuillez (very polite) |
Sois prudent ! (Be careful!) Veuillez patienter. (Please wait.)
Pronouns: in the positive, after the verb with a hyphen, and me / te become moi / toi; in the negative, before the verb as usual: Lève-toi ! (Get up!) Ne te lève pas ! (Don't get up!) Dis-le-moi ! (Tell me!) Ne me le dis pas ! (Don't tell me!)
Written instructions often use the infinitive: Ne pas fumer. (No smoking.) Ajouter le sel. (Add the salt.) To soften an order: the conditional (Tu pourrais fermer la porte ?: Could you close the door?) or « merci de » + infinitive.
Translate the words from your reading, review them as flashcards and practise with gap-fill sentences.
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