Free French Imperative Worksheets
These free French imperative worksheets print the commands your class is working on, from parle and ne parle pas to commands with pronouns such as donne-le-moi and ne me le donne pas. There are four exercises: writing the command, adding the pronouns, making it negative and filling in a chart. Every sheet prints on A4 or US Letter or saves as a PDF, with or without an answer key, and you don't need to sign up.
Four French imperative exercises
- Write the command. Students write the command for the person and verb given: (tu) parler → parle, and (tu) ne…pas + parler → ne parle pas.
- Add the pronouns. Students put the command and its pronouns together: Donne + me + le → Donne-le-moi, and Lève + te → Lève-toi. The negative version turns Ne…pas + donne + me + le into Ne me le donne pas.
- Make it negative. Students turn an affirmative command into a negative one: Lève-toi. → Ne te lève pas. The pronouns move in front of the verb, as in Donne-le-moi. → Ne me le donne pas.
- Fill-in chart. The chart is a table of up to 12 verbs, with one column for each person you pick. Tu gets two columns, affirmative and negative (parle, ne parle pas), so students also practice where a reflexive pronoun goes (lève-toi, ne te lève pas). Nous and vous get one column each, and a line under the chart says their negative is ne + the same form + pas (ne parlons pas). The first row is filled in as an example.
Choosing the persons and verbs
Every worksheet starts with the persons: any of tu, nous and vous. Nothing is selected for you, and if you press “Create worksheet” too early, each step still missing is outlined in red.
The other choices depend on the exercise. “Write the command” and “Add the pronouns” let you choose affirmative or negative commands (parle or ne parle pas). “Add the pronouns” takes one or two pronouns, and “Make it negative” takes none, one or two. “Make it negative” uses only commands that are natural both ways, such as lève-toi and ne te lève pas.
The verbs come in the same six sets as the French imperative quiz:
- Regular -er verbs: parler → parle, parlez
- -er verbs with a spelling change: acheter → achète, achetez
- -ir verbs like finir: finir → finis, finissez
- Other irregular verbs: faire → fais, faites
- Être, avoir, savoir, vouloir: sois, aie, sache, veuillez
- Reflexive (with se): se lever → lève-toi, levez-vous
A sheet can have 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 lines. “Shuffle” makes a new sheet from the same choices, which lets you hand out more than one version of the same worksheet.
French imperative exercises on paper or as a PDF
Every worksheet prints on A4 or US Letter, with or without the answer key. The preview starts with neither choice made, and the sheet appears once you've picked both. If you print the worksheets with answers, the answer key starts on a new page and lists any other accepted spelling beside the answer: “Paie-le. (or Paye-le.)” To save a sheet as a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog and set the margins to none.
Worksheets on paper, the quiz on screen
The worksheets use the same verb sets as the French imperative quiz, which asks for one command at a time and gives the reason after every answer. Students can practice there between lessons, and “Practice my mistakes” runs the commands they missed again. To teach the rules first, the French imperative guide sets out every form, from sois and veuillez to vas-y and va-t'en. For the other tenses, the French verb conjugation worksheets print fill-in boxes for the same verbs. If you teach Spanish, Italian or German too, the Spanish commands worksheets, the Italian imperative worksheets and the German imperative worksheets each print four exercises with an answer key on its own page.
Frequently asked questions
Are these French imperative worksheets free?
Yes, they're free to make, print and save as PDF, and you don't need to sign up.
Can I make a worksheet of vous commands as a PDF?
Pick vous as the person, then print and choose "Save as PDF" in the print dialog, with the margins set to none. In the fill-in chart, vous gets one column, and a line under the chart says its negative is ne + the same form + pas: ne parlez pas.
Can I print the worksheet without the answer key?
The preview lets you choose with or without it before the sheet appears. When you include the answer key, it starts on a new page.
Why does tu get two columns in the chart?
One column is the affirmative and the other the negative (parle, ne parle pas), so students also practice where a reflexive pronoun goes: lève-toi, but ne te lève pas. Nous and vous get one column each, and a line under the chart says their negative is ne + the same form + pas (ne parlons pas).
Does the answer key give other spellings?
Yes, where a command has another accepted spelling, the key gives it in parentheses: "Paie-le. (or Paye-le.)"
How many lines can a worksheet have?
You can choose 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30, and "Shuffle" makes a new sheet from the same choices.
Do the worksheets match the quiz?
Yes, they use the same six verb sets as the French imperative quiz, so a class can practice the same commands on paper and on screen.
Licenses and credits
Conjugation tables come from English Wiktionary through kaikki.org (CC BY-SA 4.0). Verbs are ranked by Hermit Dave's FrequencyWords list, built from OpenSubtitles 2018 (CC BY-SA 4.0).