Verb drill
French negative commands: turn ferme into ne ferme pas
Change twelve French commands into full written negatives. Practise ne… pas, elision and pronouns while keeping the same tu, nous or vous addressee.
- A2
- 12 answers
- Checked all at once
- Accents count
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Put ne and pas around the imperative verb: Ferme la porte → Ne ferme pas la porte. Keep the same addressee and command form. With a pronoun, move it before the verb: Ferme-la → Ne la ferme pas.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| Addressee | Do it | Do not do it |
|---|---|---|
| tu | Parle. | Ne parle pas. |
| nous | Prenons ce train. | Ne prenons pas ce train. |
| vous | Entrez. | N’entrez pas. |
Ne becomes n’ before a vowel: n’entre pas, n’attendez pas. The negative keeps the ordinary imperative ending: finis → ne finis pas, fais → ne fais pas. Regular -er verbs keep their usual singular form without final s: ne regarde pas.
Four things at the service counter
Find:
Where does the pronoun go in a negative command?
| Affirmative | Negative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Parle-lui. | Ne lui parle pas. | lui moves before the verb |
| Repose-toi. | Ne te repose pas. | toi becomes te |
| Vas-y. | N’y va pas. | y moves; the added s disappears |
A prohibition or a choice?
Ne signez pas ici.Do not sign here.
Focus: an instruction to avoid signing in this place
Ne signez pas ici. Signez en bas de la page.
Do not sign here. Sign at the bottom of the page.
Vous n’avez pas besoin de signer.You do not need to sign.
Focus: signing is unnecessary
Vous n’avez pas besoin de signer ce document.
You do not need to sign this document.
Write the whole negative command in each gap. Use both parts of the full written negative. Keep tu, nous or vous as the understood addressee, and retain the same object. Straight or curly apostrophes are accepted.
1 · Eight commands: keep the person
- Ferme la porte. → (tu)
- Signez ici. → (vous)
- Prenons ce dossier. → (nous)
- Entre. → (tu)
- Attendez ici. → (vous)
- Finis ce travail. → (tu)
- Fais une copie. → (tu: une becomes de)
- Ouvre cette enveloppe. → (tu)
2 · Four commands: move the pronoun
- Regarde-le. → (tu)
- Parlez-lui. → (vous)
- Dépêche-toi. → (tu)
- Vas-y. → (tu)
A sign may use ne pas + infinitive: Ne pas entrer. A spoken instruction to someone you address as vous uses the imperative instead. In the drill, each cue names the intended person so you can keep that form throughout.