The correct spelling is appelle-moi, with no s and a hyphen. The form “appel moi” does not exist in French: it confuses the masculine noun “appel” with the conjugated verb “appelle.” Behind this common mistake are two distinct grammatical rules that are worth untangling to avoid any further doubt.
The imperative of the verb appeler: ending in -e, with no s
In the present imperative, first-group verbs take a silent -e in the second-person singular, never -es. This is what distinguishes the imperative from the indicative: “tu appelles” has an s because it is in the present indicative, whereas “appelle” has no s because it is a command addressed directly to the listener.
The confusion often comes from a reflex: applying the indicative ending to the imperative. The Académie française notes that chante, mange, and appelle all follow the same pattern. The s only reappears in one very specific case (discussed below).
If you’re unsure whether to write appel moi or appelle-moi, the answer comes down to one criterion: if the word is a verb in the imperative, it ends in -e, with no s, and takes a hyphen before the pronoun.
Hyphen and postposed pronoun: how the affirmative imperative works
In the affirmative imperative, the object pronoun comes after the verb and is attached to it with a hyphen. This is a syntactic rule, not a typographical choice. You write “appelle-moi,” “donne-le-moi,” and “dis-lui” according to the same principle.
When the sentence becomes negative, the pronoun moves back before the verb and the hyphen disappears: “ne m’appelle pas.” The verb keeps its imperative form, but the pronoun’s position changes all the punctuation.
With “vous,” the form becomes “appelez-moi.” With “nous,” it becomes “appelons-nous.” The hyphen is always used as long as the pronoun follows the verb.
The exception: s before en and y
The s reappears in the imperative only before the adverbial pronouns “en” and “y,” for reasons of phonetic liaison. So you write:
- “Appelles-en un autre si celui-ci ne répond pas” — the s allows the [z] liaison between the verb and the pronoun “en”
- “Vas-y” and not “va-y,” following the same rule of obligatory liaison
- “Penses-y avant de décider” — the s has nothing to do with the indicative; it is there solely to aid pronunciation
Except before “en” and “y,” there is no reason to use an s in the first-group imperative.
The double l in appelle: what the 1990 spelling reforms did not change
The 1990 spelling reforms simplified the conjugation of several verbs ending in -eler and -eter by replacing the doubled consonant with a grave accent: “je modèle” instead of “je modelle,” “il gèle” instead of “il gelle.” The trend is to align them with the “peler” pattern.
Appeler and rappeler are exceptions. They retain the double l in every form where the final syllable is silent: j’appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, ils appellent, appelle (imperative). The spelling “j’appèle,” with a grave accent, is not accepted, even under the spelling reforms.
This means you need to remember two things at once: the infinitive has a single l (appeler), but the conjugated forms double the l whenever the following e is silent. This is a phonetic alternation, not an arbitrary irregularity.
Distinguishing appelle-moi by context: a direct command or reported speech
The spelling “appelle-moi” does not change between a direct command and a direct quotation. The difference is purely syntactic and can be seen in the punctuation and how the sentence is embedded.
As a direct command, “appelle-moi” works as a standalone sentence or a main clause:
- “Appelle-moi ce soir.” — a simple imperative sentence, ending with a period
- “Si tu as le temps, appelle-moi.” — the conditional subordinate clause comes before the imperative
- “Appelle-moi dès que tu arrives.” — the imperative opens the sentence, followed by a time clause
In direct speech, the same form appears in quotation marks: “Elle m’a dit : “Appelle-moi demain.”” The verb’s spelling remains the same. What signals the change in status is the reporting verb and the quotation marks, not the spelling.
In indirect speech, the structure changes completely: “Elle m’a demandé de l’appeler demain.” The imperative disappears and is replaced by the infinitive. There is no longer a hyphen or a postposed pronoun. We find that this shift from direct to indirect speech is often where mistakes multiply, because the speaker mentally retains the imperative form while constructing an infinitive clause.
Free indirect speech
Free indirect speech omits the reporting verb and quotation marks. The sentence “Il fallait qu’il l’appelle, c’était urgent” no longer contains an imperative: “appelle” is a present subjunctive here (qu’il appelle). The spelling is the same, but the mood is different. Only the syntactic context — the conjunction “que” and the subject “il” — makes it possible to tell.
When in doubt, a quick test works: if the sentence contains an explicit subject (tu, il, elle, on), the verb is not in the imperative. The imperative is characterized by the absence of an expressed subject.
Appel or appelle: don’t confuse the noun and the verb
“Appel” is a masculine noun: un appel téléphonique, un appel à candidatures, un appel d’offres. It never takes a final -e. “Appelle” is a conjugated form of the verb appeler (indicative, subjunctive, or imperative, depending on the context). Writing “appel-moi” amounts to joining a noun and a pronoun with a hyphen, which does not correspond to any grammatical construction in French.
The trap comes from the fact that “appel” and “appelle” are perfect homophones in spoken French. In writing, the grammatical function of the word determines its spelling: if it refers to an action requested of someone, it is the verb, so the correct form is “appelle.”
