Where does the pronoun go?
The same command, two positions
Regarde-le !
Look at him!
Ne le regarde pas !
Don’t look at him!
Affirmative: after the verb
The pronoun is attached to the verb and said together with it as one unit. le, la, les, lui, leur, nous and vous stay unchanged.
Prenez-les !
Take them!
Donne-lui le livre !
Give him the book!
Attends-nous !
Wait for us!
Dis-moi la vérité !
Tell me the truth!
Lève-toi !
Get up!
Dépêche-toi, le train part !
Hurry up, the train is leaving!
Negative: before the verb
In a negative command the pronoun stands between ne and the verb, with no hyphen, as in a normal sentence. me and te stay me and te. Unlike English (“Don’t tell me”), the pronoun does not follow the verb.
Ne me dis pas ça !
Don’t tell me that!
Ne les prenez pas !
Don’t take them!
Ne te lève pas !
Don’t get up!
Commands with y and en
In affirmative commands, y (“there, about it”) and en (“some, of it”) are also attached with a hyphen.
Vas-y !
Go ahead!
Allons-y, on est en retard !
Let’s go, we’re late!
Prends-en !
Take some!
Penses-y !
Think about it!
