Instructions are everywhere: recipes, sports drills, a manager's note at a part-time job, a parent's text about chores. And instructions almost always point at things already mentioned — Pass it to me. Don't forget them. Give her some. In Grade 9 you learned the impératif and saw that a single pronoun jumps after the verb in a positive command (Regarde-le ! Look at it!) but stays in front in a negative one (Ne le regarde pas ! Don't look at it!). This lesson adds the full system: two pronouns after the verb, moi and toi instead of me and te, the -s that reappears in Vas-y and Manges-en, and the way everything snaps back to normal as soon as you add ne...pas.
| Grade 9 recap: infinitive | tu | nous | vous | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parler | parle | parlons | parlez | -er verbs (and aller: va) drop the -s of the tu form |
| finir | finis | finissons | finissez | same as the present tense |
| prendre | prends | prenons | prenez | same as the present tense |
| aller | va | allons | allez | no -s in the tu form |
| être | sois | soyons | soyez | irregular |
| avoir | aie | ayons | ayez | irregular |
Affirmative commands: pronouns after the verb
| Command | Pronouns used | English |
|---|---|---|
| Donne-le-moi. | le + moi | Give it to me. |
| Dites-la-moi. (la vérité) | la + moi | Tell it to me. / Tell me the truth. |
| Explique-le-leur. | le + leur | Explain it to them. |
| Montrez-les-nous. | les + nous | Show them to us. |
| Parle-lui-en. | lui + en | Talk to him / her about it. |
| Donne-m'en. | me + en | Give me some. |
| Vas-y. | y | Go (there). / Go ahead. |
| Manges-en. | en | Eat some. |
The -s that comes back: Vas-y, Manges-en
The tu form of -er verbs and of aller normally has no -s: Mange tes légumes ! Va au parc ! But directly before the pronoun y or en, the -s returns so the two vowels can be linked by a z sound: Vas-y (vaz-y), Manges-en (manj-zen), Achètes-en, Penses-y, Parles-en. The -s appears only when y or en comes immediately after the verb: in Parle-lui-en, lui separates them, so there is no -s. And in a negative command the pronoun moves in front, so the -s disappears again: N'y va pas. N'en mange pas.
Negative commands: back to the normal order
- Donne-le-moi. — Give it to me.
- Explique-le-leur. — Explain it to them.
- Parlez-lui-en. — Talk to him about it.
- Vas-y. — Go ahead.
- Manges-en. — Eat some.
- Lève-toi. — Get up.
- Ne me le donne pas. — Don't give it to me.
- Ne le leur explique pas. — Don't explain it to them.
- Ne lui en parlez pas. — Don't talk to him about it.
- N'y va pas. — Don't go (there).
- N'en mange pas. — Don't eat any.
- Ne te lève pas. — Don't get up.
Translation: Welcome to the team, Antoine! Here are a few instructions for your first day at the café. The keys? I left them on the counter: take them when you arrive. If a customer asks for the wifi password, give it to them. The milk? There's some in the little fridge; use as much as you need. The online orders? Don't forget them! Print them and put them near the cash register. If customers ask questions about the hours, explain them clearly. And if you have a problem, don't worry: call me. Have a good day! Julie Look at the patterns: every positive command has its pronouns after the verb with hyphens (donne-le-lui, explique-le-leur, téléphone-moi), utilises-en gets its -s back before en, and the two negative commands (ne les oublie pas, ne t'inquiète pas) keep the normal order with no hyphens.