Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Verbs: 1
- Chapter 2 Verbs: 2
- Chapter 3 Tabular treament of verbs
- Chapter 4 Verb list
- Chapter 5 Nouns and adjectives
- Chapter 6 Pronouns
- Chapter 7 Determiners
- Chapter 8 Prepositions
- Chapter 9 Adverbs and adverbial expressions
- Chapter 10 Negation
- Chapter 11 Numerals
- Chapter 12 Sentences and clauses
- Key to exercises
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 2 - Verbs: 2
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Verbs: 1
- Chapter 2 Verbs: 2
- Chapter 3 Tabular treament of verbs
- Chapter 4 Verb list
- Chapter 5 Nouns and adjectives
- Chapter 6 Pronouns
- Chapter 7 Determiners
- Chapter 8 Prepositions
- Chapter 9 Adverbs and adverbial expressions
- Chapter 10 Negation
- Chapter 11 Numerals
- Chapter 12 Sentences and clauses
- Key to exercises
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
USING VERBS
Mood
The imperative mood
The imperative
The imperative is used to give commands and is, therefore, very common in everyday speech –
sit up, listen, don't do that, forget it
Certain sets of circumstances are very prone to generate large numbers of orders, which are then conveyed in the imperative mood – parents to children (and vice versa), teachers to students, in the military, in arguments, in making arrangements. The written medium makes less extensive use of the imperative mood – but it is common in manuals, recipes, instructions on products, etc.
The restricted forms of the imperative
The imperative is the verb reduced to its minimum proportions – no subject pronouns to use, used only with reference to the present time and with a very limited range of persons; in addition, sentences containing an imperative are often only one word long.
The forms of the imperative
The imperative derives mainly from the ‘you’-forms of the present tense of the verb, second person singular and second person plural; less frequently an imperative based on the first person plural occurs.
Forming the imperative
For Group 1 –er verbs
The singular imperative is derived from the second person singular forms of the present tense, forms ending in –es or –as (aller – vas) (see 16), with the final –s deleted. This –s is reinstated in certain situations – see below.
The plural imperative is derived from the second person plural forms and the first person plural forms with no adjustment.
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- Information
- A Student Grammar of French , pp. 53 - 91Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006