avancez

Avancez is the second-person plural and formal imperative form of the French verb avancer, meaning to move forward or to advance. It is used to issue commands or polite instructions to one person addressed as vous or to multiple people. In everyday usage, avancez appears in contexts such as signage, directions, or formal requests: Avancez jusqu’au prochain carrefour. Avancez, s’il vous plaît.

Grammatical note: French verbs conjugate by person and mood. The imperative forms include avance (informal singular, tu), avançons (we), and avancez (formal singular or plural). The spelling avançons uses a cedilla to keep the soft s sound before the vowel that follows.

Etymology: Avancer comes from Old French avancer, a development of the verb meaning to go forward, with roots tracing back through the historical stages of French. The imperatives, including avancez, reflect the standard vous-form endings in the modern language.

Usage considerations: As a verb form, avancez is not a noun or adjective. It is encountered in instruction, directions, customer-service interactions, and formal written text where polite, group-oriented commands are appropriate.

See also: avancer, French verbs, imperative mood, French pronunciation and orthography.