Learn Hardcore French: Parle doucement, et appuie encore sur le bouton vert de la lampe. - Speak softly, and press the green button on the lamp again.

It’s the second-person singular imperative (addressing one person as “tu”). In French commands, the subject pronoun is dropped, so you get Parle and Appuie without tu. For politeness or plural, use Parlez / Appuyez; for “let’s…”, use Parlons / Appuyons.

Why is it Parle and not Parles?

With -er verbs in the tu-imperative, French drops the final -s: tu parles → imperative Parle. The -s returns before the clitic pronouns y and en for euphony (e.g., Parles-en, Vas‑y).

Why is it appuie and not appuies? Anything special about spelling?

Same tu-imperative rule: drop the -s of the present-tense form (tu appuies → imperative Appuie). There’s also a spelling change in appuyer: the stem becomes appui- before silent -e (appuie, appuies, appuie; appuyons, appuyez). Before y/en, you keep the -s for sound: e.g., in theory Appuies‑en / Appuies‑y, though with appuyer people strongly prefer other phrasing (see below).

Do I need the preposition sur after appuyer?

Yes. To mean “press a button,” French says appuyer sur + noun: Appuie sur le bouton. Don’t say “appuie le bouton.” Alternatives: presser le bouton, pousser le bouton (both understood), but appuyer sur is the most idiomatic.

What does encore mean here? Could it also mean “still”?

Here encore means “again”: Appuie encore… = “Press again…”. It can also mean “still” in other contexts (e.g., Il est encore là = “He’s still there”). For “not yet,” use pas encore.

Where should encore go in this sentence? Can I move it?

The natural spot is right after the verb: Appuie encore sur…. Putting it at the very end (…bouton vert encore) sounds odd. In the negative, you use pas encore around the verb: N’appuie pas encore sur….

Why is it doucement and not douce?

Because it modifies the verb parle (“speak”), so you need an adverb, not an adjective. Doucement is the adverb formed from doux/douce.

Does doucement mean “quietly” or “slowly”? How is it different from lentement?

Doucement = softly, gently, quietly (tone/volume or manner). Ex: Parle doucement = “Speak softly/quietly.”
Lentement = slowly (speed). Ex: Parle lentement = “Speak slowly (so I can understand).” You can combine them if you want both: Parle doucement et lentement.

Why is the color after the noun: le bouton vert and not before?

Color adjectives typically come after the noun in French. Vert agrees in gender/number with what it describes; here bouton is masculine singular, so it’s vert.

Who is green here—the lamp or the button?

As written, it’s the button: le bouton vert de la lampe = “the green button of the lamp.” If the lamp is green, say le bouton de la lampe verte. If both are green: le bouton vert de la lampe verte.

What does de la express in de la lampe? Can I drop the article?

De la marks possession/association (“of the lamp”). In French you normally keep the article: de la lampe, not “de lampe.” If it’s non-specific, you’d use d’une lampe (“of a lamp”).

How can I make the sentence formal or address multiple people?

Use the vous-imperative: Parlez doucement, et appuyez encore sur le bouton vert de la lampe. You can soften it further with s’il vous plaît.

Can I replace le bouton vert de la lampe with a pronoun?

Yes. Natural options:

Appuie encore dessus. (= “Press on it again.”) Here dessus stands for “on it.”
With the clitic y (standing for “there/on it”), the form would be Appuies‑y, but with appuyer this is rare/awkward in speech; dessus sounds much better. Note: You cannot use a direct object pronoun (le/la) after appuyer sur, because the verb takes a prepositional complement, not a direct object.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

Parle: [paʁl] — final -e silent.
doucement: [dusmɑ̃] (often two syllables); the s is [s]; the final -t is silent.
appuie: [apɥi] — think “ah‑pwee.”
bouton: [butɔ̃] — nasal “on” at the end.
vert: [vɛʁ] — French uvular r.
lampe: [lɑ̃p] — nasal “an,” final -e often very light. Also, there’s typically no liaison after et: et appuie is [e apɥi].

Is the comma before et required? Could I use something else to show sequence?

The comma is optional. Many writers would simply write Parle doucement et appuie…. If you want to emphasize sequence, use puis or ensuite: Parle doucement, puis appuie… / Parle doucement; ensuite, appuie….