Breakdown of Respirez profondément et levez-vous lentement.
et
and
lentement
slowly
se lever
to get up
respirer
to breathe
profondément
deeply
Questions & Answers about Respirez profondément et levez-vous lentement.
Why is there a hyphen in levez-vous and why does vous come after the verb?
Because this is a command (the affirmative imperative). Normally, reflexive pronouns go before the verb (like in vous vous levez). But when telling someone to do something, the pronoun moves after the verb and attaches with a hyphen.
If I want to tell a single friend to get up, how do I change levez-vous?
Why isn't there a vous before respirez?
Because it is a direct instruction. Just like in English where we say "Breathe!" instead of "You breathe!", French drops the subject pronoun when using the imperative form to give commands or advice.
What does the -ment ending on profondément and lentement mean?
The -ment ending in French works just like the "-ly" ending in English to create adverbs. For example, lentement is built from the feminine adjective lente (slow), so it turns into "slowly."
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