finissez

Finissez is a conjugated form of the French verb finir, which means “to finish” or “to end.” It functions in two grammatical moods for the pronoun vous: as the present indicative meaning “you finish” and as the imperative meaning “finish” or “finish up” when giving a command to you (plural) or to a polite singular addressee. The same spelling Finissez is therefore used for both the descriptive present and the imperative, with context and punctuation providing the distinction.

Morphology and forms: In the present indicative, the vous form is vous finissez, built on the stem finiss- with the ending -ez. In the imperative, finissez is used without an explicit subject after the comma in commands addressed to vous. The form can combine with object pronouns, as in Finissez-les, and can be negated with ne… pas, as in Ne finissez pas tout le travail tout de suite.

Usage and examples: Finissez is common in everyday French. Examples include “Finissez vos devoirs” (Finish your homework) and “Finissez bien votre assiette” (Finish your plate properly). In questions, it can appear with the subject implied: “Vous finissez à quelle heure?” The imperative can soften with politeness or group address, while the present indicative states a fact about the subject: “Vous finissez tard” (You finish late).

Etymology and related forms: Finir comes from Latin finis, meaning end or boundary. Related words include fin (end) and finition (finishing). Other conjugations of finir include il finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent, illustrating the same stem finiss- across tenses.