Log inSign up

Gardez ces documents sur votre bureau.

Gardez ces documents sur votre bureau.
Keep these documents on your desk.
From Lesson 67:The imperative mood·French

Questions & Answers about Gardez ces documents sur votre bureau.

Why is there no word for 'you' before gardez?
Because this is a command (the imperative mood). Just like in English, you drop the subject pronoun when giving an order or instruction. You say gardez (keep) instead of vous gardez (you keep).
How do we know this command is for the vous form?
The verb ends in -ez, which is the standard vous ending for regular verbs. You use this form when speaking to a group of people or formally to one person. If you were talking to a friend, you would use the tu form and say garde.
Why do we use ces here instead of ce?
Ces means 'these' or 'those' and is always used before plural nouns. Since documents is plural, we use ces. You would use ce for a singular masculine word.
If we are using the vous form, why is it votre bureau and not vos bureaux?
The possessive word must match the thing being owned, not just the owner. Even though the owner is vous, the word bureau (desk) is singular. So, we use the singular votre (your). If there were multiple desks, we would use the plural vos.
Does bureau mean desk or office?
It can mean both! You have to look at the context. Since the sentence says the documents are on (sur) the bureau, it makes the most sense to translate it as desk.

Learn Gardez ces documents sur votre bureau and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →