évitez

Évitez is the second-person plural imperative form of éviter, used to give direct advice, instructions, or warnings to you (vous), whether addressing several people or speaking in a formal register. In everyday use, it appears on signs, manuals, and guidelines to tell readers to refrain from certain actions. The three imperative forms of éviter are évite (tu), évitons (nous), and évitez (vous).

Etymology and sense: éviter comes from Latin evitare, formed with ex- “out, away” plus a verb related to avoiding or shunning. The French form évitez arrived through Old French eviter and standardized the modern imperative you see in instruction and safety language.

Usage and examples: Évitez de toucher les équipements avant l’initialisation. Évitez de manger dans les zones non autorisées. In instructional contexts, éviter is commonly followed by de + infinitive to specify the prohibited or discouraged action, as in Évitez de vous mettre en danger.

Grammatical notes: Évitez is an imperative form and does not take an explicit subject pronoun in commands. It can be preceded by a direct instruction or a verb phrase and is often paired with de + infinitive to express avoidance. In the present indicative, vous évitez means “you avoid,” which is identical in spelling to the imperative, with meaning disambiguated by context and intonation.

See also: éviter (to avoid) and common French imperatives used in safety, health, and etiquette contexts.