# FR: pronoun order in the imperative



## Ciel Noir

Bonjour tout le monde!

I'm just wondering about the use of pronouns in the imperative case. I've seen them used after the verb on several occasions (e.g. Mangez-le) but this seems to go against the rule of putting pronouns before verbs. Is this always the case […]?

Thank you for any help you can give!

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one.


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## Peter&Steven

[…] A l'impératif, tu ne mets pas de pronom avant le verbe.

Dans ton exemple, "le" dans "mange-le" n'est pas le sujet mais l'objet (en référence à un sandwich par exemple).


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## egrek

I'm having problems with 'pronoms personnels'. Where are they placed when there's *l'imperative* ?

Montrez-moi votre passeport

*Montrez-la-moi* ?

Where is *'en'* place when there's *l'imperative* ?

 Merci beaucoup =)


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## yvandas

Montrez-le moi


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## Benoît abroad

In French we put "en" after the verb used with imperative tense:

Here are some examples:

"Prenez en" or "Débarrassez-vous en"


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## Tabac

Benoît abroad said:


> "Prenez en" or "Débarrassez-vous en"


But always with hyphens, _n'est-ce pas_?


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## Maître Capello

Definitely, except wherever there is an elision (apostrophe):

_Prenez-en !
Débarrassez-vous-en !
Manges-en !
Charge-t'en !
_


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## bloomiegirl

egrek said:


> Montrez-moi votre passeport
> *Montrez-la-moi* ?



It would be _Montrez-*le*-moi_ because _passeport_ is masculine.

Here are some links on the web that might be helpful:
http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa090200.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_personal_pronouns
(The second one may have more information than want in one sitting; just use it for reference.)

There may be better links -- these are not from grammar books -- but these are the first two that popped up on my search.


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## Minime22

if i wanted to use l'imperatif negatif avec les pronoms to replace

Mets de la colle sur le papier

would it be:

N'y en mets pas!

And

Prends deux bonbons

would it be:

Ne le prends deux!

Thanks for helping


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## itka

> Mets de la colle sur le papier
> would it be: N'y en mets pas !



Theoretically, I think "N'y en mets pas !" is correct, but imo nobody would say this sentence. It's weird... These two pronouns match seldom together except in the phrase "il y a".

I'd say :
_"N'y mets pas de colle !"
or "N'en mets pas sur le papier !"

_


> Prends deux bonbons
> would it be: Ne le prends deux !


_
"Prends deux bonbons" ---> "Prends-en deux" ---> "N'en prends pas deux !" _(if one is allowed) or_ "N'en prends pas !" _(if none is allowed)


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## tilt

itka said:


> Theoretically, I think "N'y en mets pas !" is correct, but imo nobody would say this sentence. It's weird... These two pronouns match seldom together except in the phrase "il y a".
> 
> I'd say :
> _"N'y mets pas de colle !"
> or "N'en mets pas sur le papier !"_


Let's say the sentence would be weird even if not negative.
The most compact form I can think of would be _N'en mets pas dessus_ (the adverb _dessus_ working like a pronoun for _sur le papier_).



itka said:


> _"Prends deux bonbons" ---> "Prends-en deux" ---> "N'en prends pas deux !" _(if one is allowed) or_ "N'en prends pas !" _(if none is allowed)


Or _N'en prends pas que deux ! _(if more than two is allowed).


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## jann

Just to state the general rule, in case it helps... 

The normal object pronoun order _{me te se nous vous} before {le la les} before {lui leur} before {y} before {en}_ applies in all sentences except for affirmative imperatives. The _ne_ of a negation always precedes the object pronoun(s), regardless of whether the sentence is imperative.

This site has a complete presentation of object pronoun order. See also here.


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## Yaribo

Hello! Bonjour!

_"Claude à côté de toi a une trousse pleine de crayons. Demande-....-.... un!"
_
I have to fill in the blanks. I presume I should be saying something like "Ask him for one of those" and thus use the pronoun "en". But my problem is the word order.

Which is the right one, "_Demande-en-lui un" _or "_Demande-lui-en un"? _I would go for the first, but if I'm wrong in both cases, please be so kind as to explain to me how I should say it instead.

Thanks! Merci!


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## Downbow

I believe the correct order is "Demande-lui-en un." I have a vague memory of a mnemonic dealing with such pronoun pile-ups: "D, I, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2" (direct object, indirect object, first person, second person, third person, y, en).

There are WF forum threads dealing with this headache:
FR: donne-m'en / donne-moi-z-en [sic] / donnez-lui-en
Donne-lui-en une - liaison

Bonne chance à tous.


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## Yaribo

Thanks for the link, it really helps!

I tended to put "en" first because of a previous example (which actually didn't even contain "en"): _rendons-les-leur._ "les" is a direct object and "leur" is indirect, so I just felt like putting "en" first, as a direct object, and then "lui", as the indirect object.

But as far as I understood from the other thread, "en" always comes at the end, so I think it should be _Demande-lui-en un.
_


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## atcheque

Bonjour,

Voir aussi :
[…]
FR: pronoun order: me, te, se, nous, vous, le, la, les, lui, leur, y, en - grammaire


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