French conjugation explanation

Affirmative vs. negative commands

<p>In French, the only difference between affirmative and negative commands is the <strong>placement of direct and indirect pronouns</strong>. In the <strong>affirmative</strong>, pronouns are placed <strong>after the verb</strong> followed by a hyphen. But in the <strong>negative imperative</strong>, pronouns are placed <strong>between <span style="font-style: italic;">ne</span> and the verb</strong>.</p>

<p>Let's compare the affirmative and negative commands of the reflexive verb <span style="font-style: italic;">se laver</span> (to wash oneself):</p>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/31/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Impératif affirmatif</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

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<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu)

</span>lave-toi

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(nous)

</span>lavons-nous

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(vous)

</span>lavez-vous

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

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<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(note: <strong>stressed pronouns</strong> are used with the affirmative [e.g., "toi" instead of "te"])</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/141/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Impératif négatif</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

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<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu) ne

</span>te lave

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(nous) ne

</span>nous lavons

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(vous) ne

</span>vous lavez

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

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<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">S'il vous plaît, <strong>lavez-vous</strong> les mains avec du savon. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Please wash your hands with soap.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">S'il vous plaît, <strong>ne vous lavez</strong> les mains avec du savon. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Please don't wash your hands with soap.</span>)</div>