Question 1

What form is "Suivez," and who am I talking to?

Accepted Answer

Suivez is the imperative (command) form of suivre used with vous. It addresses either:
- more than one person (plural), or
- one person formally/politely.
Imperative forms of suivre are: Suis (tu), Suivons (nous), Suivez (vous).

Question 2

Why is it moi (after the verb) and not me?

Accepted Answer

In affirmative commands, object pronouns are attached after the verb with a hyphen, and me becomes moi (and te becomes toi): Suivez-moi.  
In the negative, pronouns go before the verb and revert to me/te: Ne me suivez pas.  
Note: with affirmative commands before y or en, you use m’/t’ (e.g., Donnez-m’en), not moi/toi.

Question 3

What does s’il vous plaît literally mean, and what’s with the apostrophe?

Accepted Answer

It literally means “if it pleases you.”  
- s’ is the contraction of si + il → s’il (“if it”), an obligatory elision in writing.  
- vous = “you” (formal/plural).  
- plaît is the 3rd-person singular of plaire.  
Spelling: traditional plaît (with a circumflex on i) or, under the 1990 reforms, plait (without the accent); both are accepted.

Question 4

When should I use s’il te plaît instead?

Accepted Answer

Use s’il te plaît with someone you address as tu (informal singular).  
With tu, the sentence becomes: Suis-moi, s’il te plaît.

Question 5

Is the comma necessary, and can s’il vous plaît go at the beginning?

Accepted Answer

It’s standard to separate the politeness formula with a comma: Suivez-moi, s’il vous plaît.  
You can also put it first: S’il vous plaît, suivez-moi.  
In signs or very casual notes the comma may be dropped, but in normal writing it’s recommended.

Question 6

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

Accepted Answer

Approximation: “swee-vay mwah, seel voo pleh.”  
IPA: [sɥi.ve mwa, sil vu plɛ].  
Notes:
- -ez in suivez is [e] (like “ay” in “say”).  
- oi in moi is [wa] (“wah”).  
- Final t in plaît is silent here (you’d hear it only in forms like plaît-il).

Question 7

Are there more or less formal alternatives?

Accepted Answer

More formal/softer:
- Veuillez me suivre. (very polite, often used by staff/officials)
- Je vous prie de me suivre. (very formal)
Slightly less direct:
- Venez par ici, s’il vous plaît.

Question 8

Why not Suivrez-moi?

Accepted Answer

Because suivrez is future tense (vous suivrez = “you will follow”). Commands use the imperative: Suivez-moi.

Question 9

How does this change if I’m speaking to one person I know well?

Accepted Answer

Use tu: Suis-moi, s’il te plaît.  
Note: suis here is the imperative of suivre, which looks the same as je suis (“I am”) from être—context disambiguates.

Question 10

Any common writing pitfalls to avoid?

Accepted Answer

- Don’t forget the hyphen: suivez-moi (not “suivez moi”).  
- Use the elision: s’il, not “si il.”  
- Spell plaît correctly (traditional) or plait (1990 reform); avoid “plâit.”  
- No capital on vous in normal text (a courtesy capital—Vous—may appear in very formal letters).  
- Keep the comma for standard writing.

Question 11

Can I use Suivez-moi for “Follow me” on social media?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Suivez-moi sur Instagram/X is natural. Platforms also use buttons like Suivre; for subscriptions, Abonnez-vous is common.

Question 12

How would I say it in the negative?

Accepted Answer

Ne me suivez pas, s’il vous plaît.  
(Negative imperative: ne + pronoun + verb + pas, and you keep me before the verb.)

Suivez-moi, s'il vous plaît.

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