French Phrase
Imprime le reçu, s'il te plaît.
Meaning
A friendly, informal way to ask someone to print the receipt. The imperative ‘Imprime’ gives the command, while ‘s'il te plaît’ adds politeness, making the request sound courteous rather than demanding.
When to use
Use this phrase in casual settings—when you’re speaking to a colleague, a shop assistant you know, or a friend who can help you print a document. In formal situations replace ‘s'il te plaît’ with ‘s'il vous plaît’ and the imperative with the polite form ‘imprimez’.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Imprimelereçu,s'ilteplaît.
Imperative (2nd pers. sing.)
‘Imprime’ is the affirmative imperative of the verb *imprimer* used with ‘tu’ (you, informal).
Definite article ‘le’
‘le’ is the masculine singular definite article that agrees with the noun *reçu*.
Noun gender
*reçu* is masculine; therefore it takes ‘le’ and the past participle agreement is not needed here.
Polite formula ‘s’il te plaît’
A contraction of *si* + *il* + *te plaît*; used to soften a request in informal contexts.
Pronoun placement
In the polite formula the pronoun *te* follows the verb *plaît*, not the imperative verb.
🗨In Conversation
Imprime le reçu, s'il te plaît.
Print the receipt, please.
Bien sûr, le voici.
Sure, here it is.
✕Common Mistakes
Imprimez le reçu, s'il te plaît.
Mixes the formal ‘vous’ imperative with the informal ‘te’ in the polite formula.
Imprime le reçue, s'il te plaît.
‘Reçue’ is the feminine form; *reçu* is masculine, so the article must be ‘le’.
Imprime le reçu s'il te plaît.
Missing the comma before the polite formula makes the sentence sound rushed; a pause is natural in spoken French.
↔Alternatives
Pouvez-vous imprimer le reçu, s'il vous plaît ?
Could you print the receipt, please?
Imprime le ticket, s'il te plaît.
Print the ticket, please.
Fais-moi le reçu, s'il te plaît.
Make me the receipt, please.
Cultural Tip
In French, the level of formality is signalled by the pronoun in ‘s'il te plaît’ (informal) versus ‘s'il vous plaît’ (formal or plural). Using the informal form with strangers can sound overly familiar, so switch to the formal version in shops, banks, or when you’re not sure about the relationship. Also, French speakers often prefer the polite formula at the end of the request rather than at the beginning.