Congratulations — you've reached the final lesson of Unit 6! To close out this unit on food and restaurants, we're going into the kitchen to make crêpes with Camille and Lucas. This lesson introduces cooking verbs, kitchen vocabulary, and — crucially — the imperative mood, which lets you give instructions and commands. The imperative is one of the most useful structures in everyday French: recipes, directions, and advice all use it constantly. Let's cook!
Learning tips
- The imperative (command form) in French has two main forms: 'tu-imperative' for informal/one person, and 'vous-imperative' for formal or multiple people. In recipes, both are common.
- For regular -er verbs, the tu-imperative drops the final -s from the tu-form: 'tu manges' → 'Mange !', 'tu mélanges' → 'Mélange !'. This is the trickiest rule for English speakers who expect a consistent ending.
- Irregular verbs like 'prendre' and 'faire' have special imperative forms: 'Prends !' (take — informal), 'Faites !' (do/make — formal). These must be memorised.
- The phrase 'petit à petit' (little by little / gradually) is very common in French instructions and recipes. It's worth memorising as a chunk.
- Cooking vocabulary overlaps with everyday life: 'couper' (to cut), 'mélanger' (to mix), 'verser' (to pour) are all used outside the kitchen too.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| l'addition | the bill |
| le pourboire | the tip |
| remercier | to thank |
| laisser | to leave (behind) |
| le reste | the rest / the remainder |
| offrir | to treat / to offer |
| inviter | to invite |
| ensemble | together |
| séparément | separately |
| la monnaie | the change (coins) |
Dialog
The scene moves from restaurants to Camille's apartment in the Marais district of Paris, where she teaches Lucas how to make crêpes from scratch. The dialog is full of cooking instructions in the imperative mood — both affirmative commands and questions about what to do next. Notice how Camille naturally switches between explaining (indicative) and instructing (imperative).
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| la recette | /la ʁə.sɛt/ | the recipe | Pronounced /ʁə.sɛt/. 'Une recette simple' = a simple recipe. 'Le livre de recettes' = the recipe book. |
| mélanger | /me.lɑ̃.ʒe/ | to mix, to blend | Imperative (tu): 'Mélange !' — note no -s. Used in cooking and also figuratively: 'mélanger les idées'. |
| ajouter | /a.ʒu.te/ | to add | Imperative (tu): 'Ajoute !' — no -s. 'Ajouter du sel' = to add salt. Very common in recipes. |
| couper | /ku.pe/ | to cut | Imperative (tu): 'Coupe !' — no -s. 'Couper en petits morceaux' = to cut into small pieces. |
| cuire | /kɥiʁ/ | to cook (a food item) | 'Cuire' is irregular — used specifically for the cooking process. 'Faire cuire' is also common. Imperative (tu): 'Cuis !' |
| verser | /vɛʁ.se/ | to pour | Imperative (tu): 'Verse !' — no -s. 'Verser le lait petit à petit' = pour the milk little by little. |
| le sucre | /lə sykʁ/ | the sugar | 'Le sucre en poudre' = caster sugar. 'Le sucre glace' = icing sugar. Essential for sweet crêpes! |
| le sel | /lə sɛl/ | the salt | 'Le sel de mer' = sea salt. 'Une pincée de sel' = a pinch of salt. Key in both sweet and savoury cooking. |
| l' l'huile | /lɥil/ | the oil | 'L'huile d'olive' = olive oil. 'L'huile de tournesol' = sunflower oil. Feminine noun starting with h aspiré — uses l'. |
| la poêle | /la pwal/ | the (frying) pan | Pronounced /pwal/. 'Une poêle à crêpes' = a crêpe pan. Essential for making crêpes! |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| remuer | /ʁə.mɥe/ | to stir | 'Remuer' = to stir continuously, keeping something moving. Similar to 'mélanger' but implies stirring rather than mixing dry ingredients. |
| chauffer | /ʃo.fe/ | to heat up, to warm | 'Chauffer la poêle' = heat up the pan. 'Se chauffer' = to warm oneself up. |
| refroidir | /ʁə.fʁwa.diʁ/ | to cool down | 'Laisser refroidir' = let it cool down. Important step before serving some dishes. |
| la pâte | /la pɑt/ | the batter / the dough / the pastry | 'La pâte à crêpes' = crêpe batter. 'La pâte brisée' = shortcrust pastry. The same word covers many types of dough. |
| le moule | /lə mul/ | the mould / the tin / the baking dish | 'Un moule à gâteau' = a cake tin. 'Un moule à tarte' = a tart mould. |
| la minuterie | /la mi.ny.tʁi/ | the timer | 'La minuterie' or 'le minuteur' — set the timer to avoid burning your crêpes! |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| petit à petit | little by little, gradually |
| à feu moyen | on medium heat |
| c'est prêt | it's ready |
Grammar: Imperative mood for cooking instructions — tu-form and vous-form — -er verbs drop the -s in tu-form
| Infinitif | Impératif (tu) | Impératif (vous) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| mélanger | Mélange ! | Mélangez ! | no -s in tu-form |
| ajouter | Ajoute ! | Ajoutez ! | no -s in tu-form |
| verser | Verse ! | Versez ! | no -s in tu-form |
| couper | Coupe ! | Coupez ! | no -s in tu-form |
| cuire | Cuis ! | Cuisez ! | irregular -ir verb |
| prendre | Prends ! | Prenez ! | irregular — keeps -s |
| faire | Fais ! | Faites ! | irregular |
The imperative mood is used to give commands, instructions, and suggestions. In French, it has three forms: tu (informal singular), nous (let's...), and vous (formal/plural). For this lesson, focus on tu and vous. For regular -er verbs, the tu-imperative is formed by removing the -s from the tu present-tense form: 'tu mélanges' → 'Mélange !', 'tu ajoutes' → 'Ajoute !', 'tu verses' → 'Verse !'. This missing -s surprises many learners — it exists only for -er verbs in the tu-form. The vous-imperative simply adds -ez: 'Mélangez !', 'Ajoutez !', 'Versez !'. Irregular verbs have special forms you need to memorise: 'prendre' → 'Prends !' / 'Prenez !', 'faire' → 'Fais !' / 'Faites !', 'cuire' (irregular -ir) → 'Cuis !' / 'Cuisez !'. To make an imperative negative, add 'ne' before the verb and 'pas' after: 'Ne mélange pas trop !' = Don't mix too much! The imperative is everywhere in French daily life — recipes, street signs, instructions, and friendly advice all rely on it.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct word from this lesson. Use the English clue in brackets.
- C'est une bonne pour les crêpes ! (recipe)(set of instructions for making a dish)
- Il faut le sucre et la farine dans un bol. (to mix)(infinitive: to combine ingredients together)
- un peu de sel dans la pâte. (Add — imperative tu)(tu-imperative: put in / drop in — the verb is ajouter)
- Chauffe la avant de verser l'huile. (pan)(the cooking vessel you use for frying — with article)
- les légumes en petits morceaux. (Cut — imperative tu)(tu-imperative: use a knife on — the verb is couper)
Grammar Application
Give the correct imperative form of the verb as indicated. Remember the tu-imperative drops the -s for -er verbs.
- mélanger (tu) → (Give the tu-imperative)(mélanger → tu-imperative)
- ajouter (vous) → (Give the vous-imperative)(ajouter → vous-imperative)
- verser (tu) → (Give the tu-imperative)(verser → tu-imperative)
- couper (vous) → (Give the vous-imperative)(couper → vous-imperative)
- cuire (tu) → (Give the tu-imperative)(cuire → tu-imperative — irregular!)
Translate into French
Translate each English sentence into French. For imperative sentences, use the tu-form unless otherwise indicated.
- It's a simple recipe.
- Mix the flour and the sugar.
- Pour the oil into the pan.
- Add a little salt.
- Cut the vegetables into small pieces.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 3–4 steps of a simple recipe in French using the imperative. You can describe making crêpes, a salad, or any other dish you know.
Takeaway
For regular -er verbs, the tu-imperative drops the -s: 'Mélange !', 'Ajoute !', 'Verse !' — while the vous-imperative keeps the -ez: 'Mélangez !', 'Ajoutez !', 'Versez !'