Understanding the l'impératif passé : Formation and Implementation

L'impératif passé or the past imperative is a verbal mode that allows to express orders or instructions relating to past actions, that is to say actions that should have been carried out before a certain moment. However, it is important to note that the past imperative is not very commonly used in French. The formation of the past imperative is done from the auxiliary "avoir" or "être" in the present imperative followed by past participle of the main verb. It is important to note that the past imperative is rarely used in speaking and is often replaced by other verb tenses to express past actions, such as the past tense or the imperfect.

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» Usage of the l'impératif passé
» Formation of the l'impératif passé

Usage of the l'impératif passé

L'impératif passé or the past imperative is used to express orders or instructions relating to past actions, that is, actions that should have been performed before a certain time. However, it should be noted that the past imperative is relatively rare and little used in contemporary French.

The use of the past imperative is often reserved for formal or literary contexts. Here are some examples of the use of the past imperative:

Giving orders or instructions for past actions: :	Expressing regret or blame for past actions :	Use in a literary or poetic register :
Aie fini tes devoirs avant mon retour.(Finish your homework before I get back.) Ayons terminé cette tâche avant la réunion.(Let's have this task completed before the meeting.) Ayez réparé la voiture pour demain matin.(Have the car fixed for tomorrow morning.)	Aie été plus attentif lors de cette réunion.(Have been more attentive during this meeting.) Ayons fait plus d'efforts pour résoudre ce problème.(Let's have made more efforts to solve this problem) Ayez suivi mes conseils, vous auriez évité cette situation. (Have followed my advice, you would have avoided this situation.)	"Aie aimé sans mesure" (extrait d'un poème){ "Have loved without measure" (from a poem)} "Ayons voyagé vers des contrées lointaines" (phrase d'une narration) {Let us have traveled to distant lands" (phrase from a narration) }

It is important to note that the past imperative is not commonly used in speaking and can sound rather formal. In most everyday communication situations, it is better to use other verb tenses, such as the past tense or the imperfect, to express past actions in a more fluent and natural way.

Formation of the l'impératif passé

The past imperative is formed from the auxiliary "avoir" or "être" in the present imperative followed by the past participle of the main verb. The training varies according to the auxiliary used.

Verbe "avoir" :	Verbe "être" :
Aie +past participle (for the second person singular, "tu") Ayons + past participle (for the first person plural, "nous") Ayez + past participle (for the second person plural, "vous")	Sois + past participle (for the second person singular, "tu") Soyons + past participle (for the first person plural, "nous") Soyez + past participle (for the second person plural, "vous")
Example : Aie fini ! (Tu as fini !) - Have finished! (You're done !) Ayons mangé ! (Nous avons mangé !) - Let's have eaten! (We ate !) Ayez lu ! (Vous avez lu !) - Have read! ( Have you read!)	Example : Sois venu ! (Tu es venu !) -Come! (You came !) Soyons partis ! (Nous sommes partis !) - Let's go! (We left !) Soyez prêts ! (Vous êtes prêts !) - Be ready! (Are you ready!)

It is important to know the past participle of verbs to correctly form the past imperative. The past participle of regular verbs is usually formed by adding "-é" to the infinitive form of the verb.

It should be noted that the past imperative is rarely used in speaking and is often replaced by other verb tenses to express past actions, such as the past tense.

» Check out the other tenses of the imperative