Imperative (Commands)
ஏவல் வினைச்சொற்கள்
French drops the subject pronoun for commands, just like Tamil's imperative verb forms do — but French also quietly drops a letter from -er verbs, a small spelling quirk worth knowing upfront.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Formed from the present tense, minus the pronoun
Tu manges → Mange ! / Nous mangeons → Mangeons ! / Vous mangez → Mangez !
சாப்பிடு! / சாப்பிடுவோம்! / சாப்பிடுங்கள்!
The imperative simply reuses the tu, nous, and vous forms of the present tense with the subject pronoun dropped — no new conjugation to learn. This matches Tamil's imperative, which also drops the subject and marks the command directly on the verb (சாப்பிடு, சாப்பிடுங்கள்). The one wrinkle: -er verbs (and a few -ir verbs like ouvrir) drop the final -s from the tu form — Mange!, not Manges!
Reflexive imperatives: pronoun position flips
Lève-toi ! (Get up!) but Ne te lève pas ! (Don't get up!)
எழுந்திரு! / எழுந்திருக்காதே!
In an affirmative command, the reflexive pronoun moves after the verb and attaches with a hyphen, and te becomes toi: Lève-toi!, Asseyez-vous! In a negative command, the pronoun moves back to its normal position before the verb: Ne te lève pas!, Ne vous asseyez pas!
Irregular imperatives: être and avoir
Sois sage ! (Be good!) / Aie confiance ! (Have confidence!)
நல்லவனாக இரு! / நம்பிக்கை வை!
être and avoir don't use their normal present-tense forms for the imperative — they borrow forms from the subjunctive instead: sois, soyons, soyez (être) and aie, ayons, ayez (avoir). These have to be memorized separately since they don't follow the regular 'present tense minus pronoun' rule.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| French | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mange ! | mahnzh | சாப்பிடு!sāppiḍu! | Eat! (informal) |
| Finis ! | fee-NEE | முடி!muḍi! | Finish! (informal) |
| Attends ! | ah-TAHN | காத்திரு!kāththiru! | Wait! (informal) |
| Allons-y ! | ah-lohn-ZEE | போலாம்!pōlām! | Let's go! |
| Levez-vous ! | luh-vay VOO | எழுந்திருங்கள்!eḻundhiruṅgaḷ! | Stand up! (formal/plural) |
| Assieds-toi ! | ah-syay TWAH | உட்காரு!uṭkāru! | Sit down! (informal) |
| Ne parle pas ! | nuh parl PAH | பேசாதே!pēsādhē! | Don't speak! (informal) |
| Sois sage ! | swah sahzh | நல்லவனாக இரு!nallavaṉāka iru! | Be good! (informal) |
| Ayez confiance ! | ay-yay kohn-fee-AHNS | நம்பிக்கை வையுங்கள்!nambikkai vaiyuṅgaḷ! | Have confidence! (formal/plural) |
| Écoute ! | ay-KOOT | கேள்!kēḷ! | Listen! (informal) |