N’oublie pas de m’envoyer un message quand tu arrives.

Do not forget to send me a message when you arrive.

Breakdown of N’oublie pas de m’envoyer un message quand tu arrives.

• tu: you
• ne ... pas: not
• quand: when
• oublier: to forget
• arriver: to arrive
• envoyer: to send
• le message: the message

Questions & Answers about N’oublie pas de m’envoyer un message quand tu arrives.

Why does the sentence use n’oublie pas instead of something else for “Don’t forget”?

In French, negative commands are formed with ne and pas around the verb. The imperative of oublier (to forget) in the “tu” form is oublie, but adding ne + pas makes it negative, so you get n’oublie pas.

What does de m’envoyer mean?

In French, you often use de before an infinitive after certain verbs, such as oublier. So n’oublie pas de m’envoyer literally translates to “Don’t forget to send me.” The m’ is the object pronoun “me,” meaning you send something to me.

Why is there an apostrophe in m’envoyer?

In French, me contracts to m’ before a vowel sound for easier pronunciation. So me envoyer becomes m’envoyer. This is a very common phenomenon called “elision” in French.

Why is quand tu arrives in the present tense even though it refers to a future moment?

In French, you often use the present tense in a time clause (here introduced by quand) to talk about a future event. It functions like the future tense in English, but French typically keeps it in the present in these contexts.

Could I say n’oublie pas de m’envoyer un message lorsque tu arriveras?

Yes, that’s also correct. Using arriveras is the future tense and emphasizes the future action. However, it’s equally natural in French to say quand tu arrives, which is more common in everyday speech and still understood as referring to the future.