French · Chapter 12 · Lesson 6 · Grammar primer
Commands: the imperative
Three forms (tu, nous, vous), the -er drop-the-s on tu, three irregulars (avoir, etre, savoir), and the hyphen-attachment of pronouns: donne-moi, allons-y, prenez-en.
The short version
The -er command loses its s
Tu parles becomes parle, tu manges becomes mange. Only -er verbs drop the final -s in the tu imperative; finis and prends keep theirs. The exception is euphonic: the s comes back before y and en, which is why it is vas-y and manges-en.
Parle plus lentement, s'il te plaît.
Pronouns swap sides when you say don't
In an affirmative command the pronoun hooks onto the verb with a hyphen and me becomes moi: donne-moi le livre. Negate it and the pronoun goes back in front as plain me: ne me donne pas le livre. The split is mechanical, and ne donne-moi pas is the error it catches.
Donne-moi le livre.
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