Breakdown of Choisis un parfum, sois élégant et n'aie pas honte !
être
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
et
and
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
choisir
to choose
élégant
elegant
le parfum
the perfume
la honte
the shame
Questions & Answers about Choisis un parfum, sois élégant et n'aie pas honte !
Why does it say sois instead of es for "be"?
Sois is the imperative (command) form of être (to be) for tu (you, informal). Since we are giving a command to one person, we use this special irregular form instead of the normal present tense tu es.
Why is it aie in n'aie pas honte?
Just like être, the verb avoir (to have) has an irregular command form. For tu, it is aie. Here, it is used in the negative: n'aie pas means "don't have" (which translates to "don't be" in this English phrase).
Why do we use avoir (to have) to say "don't be ashamed"?
In French, you "have" shame, rather than "being" ashamed. The expression is avoir honte. That is why the sentence uses the command form of avoir (aie) instead of être (sois).
I remember dropping the 's' for tu commands. Why does choisis still have an 's'?
You only drop the final 's' in the tu command form for verbs that end in -er (like mange ! or parle !). Because choisir (to choose) is an -ir verb, it keeps its 's' in the command form: choisis !
Does élégant change if the person being spoken to is female?
Yes! Adjectives still need to match the person you are talking to, even in a command. If you were telling a woman to be elegant, it would be sois élégante.
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