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The imperative and its pronouns

CEFR A2 · part 18 minInstant feedback

edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.

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The rule, in three lines

The imperative drops the subject pronoun: tu parles → parle ! The -er verbs lose the -s in the tu form. And the pronoun follows, with a hyphen, in the affirmative —prends-le— and goes in front in the negative: ne le prends pas.

The usual slip. Leaving the pronoun always in the same place. In the negative it goes back in front of the verb: ne le prends pas, not «ne prends-le pas».

Why it catches you out. English keeps the pronoun after the verb in both —take it / don't take it— so the French switch has no equivalent at all. And the -s of vas-y has nothing to hold on to either.