Breakdown of N’ignore pas mes messages, s’il te plaît.
Questions & Answers about N’ignore pas mes messages, s’il te plaît.
Why is it N’ignore and not Ne ignore?
Why is there no subject pronoun like tu?
Because this sentence is in the imperative, the form used for commands and requests.
In French commands, the subject pronoun is usually omitted:
- Ignore mes messages.
- N’ignore pas mes messages.
Even though tu is not written, it is understood. This sentence is speaking to one person informally.
If you wanted to speak:
- to one person formally, or
- to several people,
you would use vous and say:
- N’ignorez pas mes messages, s’il vous plaît.
How does the negative command work in French?
Why is the verb ignore and not ignores?
Because this is the tu imperative of an -er verb.
For most regular -er verbs, the tu imperative drops the final -s:
- tu parles → Parle !
- tu regardes → Regarde !
- tu ignores → Ignore !
So in the negative:
- N’ignore pas
That is normal.
A useful extra detail: in some affirmative commands before y or en, the -s comes back:
- Va !
- Vas-y !
But that does not apply here.
Why is it mes messages?
What exactly does s’il te plaît mean, and why is it used here?
S’il te plaît is the usual informal way to say please to one person.
Literally, it means something like if it pleases you, but learners should usually think of it simply as please.
It softens the command, so instead of sounding harsh, the sentence becomes more polite or pleading:
- N’ignore pas mes messages. = stronger, more direct
- N’ignore pas mes messages, s’il te plaît. = softer, more polite
Because the sentence uses te, it is informal and directed at one person.
The formal/plural version is:
- s’il vous plaît
What is the difference between s’il te plaît and s’il vous plaît?
The difference is the level of formality and the number of people addressed.
- s’il te plaît = informal, used with tu, usually for one person you know well
- s’il vous plaît = formal, or used for more than one person
So this sentence is clearly addressed to:
- one person
- in an informal way
If you wanted a formal version, you would say:
N’ignorez pas mes messages, s’il vous plaît.
Does ignorer mean the same as not answering?
Not exactly.
Ignorer means to ignore, so it suggests deliberately not paying attention to something or someone.
So N’ignore pas mes messages implies something like:
- don’t disregard my messages
- don’t pretend they aren’t there
- don’t leave them unnoticed on purpose
If you specifically wanted to say don’t stop replying or answer me, French might use a different verb, such as:
So ignorer has a stronger sense of deliberate ignoring than simply not responding.
How is this sentence pronounced?
A rough pronunciation guide is:
N’ignore pas mes messages, s’il te plaît.
nee-nyor pah may may-sahzh, seel tuh pleh
A few useful notes:
- N’ignore sounds like nee-nyor
- pas ends with a silent -s
- mes sounds like may
- messages is pronounced roughly may-sahzh
- s’il te plaît sounds like seel tuh pleh
Also, the plural -s in messages is silent, so singular and plural sound the same here:
- message
- messages
Can I leave out s’il te plaît?
Yes.
The core sentence is:
N’ignore pas mes messages.
That is already complete and correct.
Adding s’il te plaît simply makes it sound more polite, softer, or more emotional. Depending on context, leaving it out can sound:
- firmer
- more annoyed
- more direct
So both are correct, but they do not feel exactly the same in tone.
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