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When giving advice or instructions, you will often need the verbs **être** (to be) and **avoir** (to have). Both of these verbs have irregular imperative forms.

### The imperative of "être"

To tell someone to "be" something, use these imperative forms:

| Pronoun | Imperative |
|---|---|
| tu | **sois** |
| nous | **soyons** |
| vous | **soyez** |

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### The imperative of "avoir"

**avoir** also has irregular imperative forms:

| Pronoun | Imperative |
|---|---|
| tu | **aie** |
| nous | **ayons** |
| vous | **ayez** |

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### Negative commands with "avoir"

In French, many feelings are expressed using **avoir**, such as **avoir peur** (to be afraid) and **avoir honte** (to be ashamed).

To tell someone *not* to feel a certain way, frame the imperative form with **ne** (or **n'** before a vowel) and **pas**.

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Irregular imperatives (sois, aie)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
in love / romantic	amoureux
natural	naturel
It is a romantic date, so be natural!	C'est un rendez-vous amoureux, alors sois naturel !
You organized this romantic date a week ago.	Tu as organisé ce rendez-vous amoureux il y a une semaine.
punctual	ponctuel
Please, be punctual tonight.	S'il te plaît, sois ponctuel ce soir.
elegant	élégant
You chose an elegant restaurant a month ago.	Tu as choisi un restaurant élégant il y a un mois.
the perfume	le parfum
You are wearing a nice perfume, but also be elegant!	Tu portes un beau parfum, mais sois aussi élégant !
You wash up and get dressed for tonight.	Tu te laves et tu t'habilles pour ce soir.
the smile	le sourire
Have a beautiful smile for this woman!	Aie un beau sourire pour cette femme !
charming (delightful, lovely)	charmant
Your smile is really very charming.	Ton sourire est vraiment très charmant.
sincere	sincère
Be charming, but always be sincere!	Sois charmant, mais sois toujours sincère !
A woman likes a sincere and natural man.	Une femme aime un homme sincère et naturel.
the shame	la honte
Do not be ashamed to tell the truth.	N'aie pas honte de dire la vérité.
She is a nice girl, so do not be afraid!	C'est une fille sympa, alors n'aie pas peur !
the conversation	la conversation
Let's have a good conversation at dinner.	Ayons une bonne conversation au dîner.
Let's be polite and have a good conversation.	Soyons polis et ayons une bonne conversation.
Be elegant and punctual for your date.	Soyez élégant et ponctuel pour votre rendez-vous.
Choose a perfume, be elegant and don't be ashamed!	Choisis un parfum, sois élégant et n'aie pas honte !

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