Learn French: Vas-y !

Vas-y !

Go ahead!

Breakdown of Vas-y !

aller

to go

there (pronoun) / to it

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Questions & Answers about Vas-y !

Why is there an 's' at the end of Vas if the imperative command for aller is usually Va?

In the tu form of the imperative, verbs ending in -er (as well as aller) usually drop the final 's', so the command for 'Go!' is just Va !. However, when the verb is immediately followed by the pronouns y or en, French adds the 's' back in to create a smooth, easy-to-pronounce link between the words.

What does the pronoun y mean here?

Literally, y means 'there', so Vas-y ! translates to 'Go there!'. But it is extremely common as an idiom meaning 'Go ahead!', 'Go on!', or 'Do it!' to encourage someone. You can use it even when no physical location is being talked about.

Why is there a hyphen between Vas and y?

In French, when you give a positive command (telling someone to do something rather than telling them not to do it), any object pronouns must be attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen.