How to Choose Between "ne t'inquiète pas" and "ne t'inquiètes pas"

Start by noticing the structure ne ... pas around a command or reassurance. The French imperative can express an order, request, wish, recommendation, or prohibition, and a negative imperative can tell someone not to do something, according to the OQLF's overview of the imperative. In this phrase, the meaning is reassuring: "don't worry."

The verb behind the expression is s'inquiéter, the pronominal form of inquiéter. The CNRTL entry for inquiéter gives the pronominal meaning as worrying or being concerned, which matches the everyday sense of ne t'inquiète pas. Once you know the infinitive is an -er verb, the imperative rule becomes easier to apply.

For -er verbs, the second-person singular imperative normally does not take a final s; the OQLF notes this as the main special form of the present imperative for these verbs in its page on forms of the imperative. The conjugation table for inquiéter also lists the present imperative as inquiète, inquiétons, inquiétez. So the command form is inquiète, not inquiètes.

In an affirmative pronominal imperative, the pronoun comes after the verb, as in inquiète-toi. In a negative imperative, personal pronouns move before the verb and are not joined to it by a hyphen, as the OQLF explains in its guide to pronouns with the imperative. That gives ne t'inquiète pas.

Do not write inquiete without accents or inquiéte with the wrong accent in careful French. The present forms shown in the conjugation of inquiéter use inquiète for the singular present forms and the singular imperative. The accent is part of the spelling, not a decoration.

The spelling inquiètes is correct when the subject is expressed, as in tu t'inquiètes. The same conjugation source lists tu inquiètes at the present indicative, while the imperative remains inquiète. If your sentence has tu, the s may belong; if it is a command without tu, remove it.

French does add an s to some -er imperatives before en or y, mostly for pronunciation, as the OQLF explains in its imperative spelling rules. Examples include forms like penses-y or manges-en. Ne t'inquiète pas is followed by pas, so this exception does not apply.

Replace s'inquiéter with another -er verb such as se dépêcher: you would write ne te dépêche pas, not ne te dépêches pas. The same imperative pattern gives ne t'inquiète pas. This test is useful because the OQLF distinguishes imperative instructions from infinitive instructions and reminds writers to keep a consistent form in practical texts through its page on imperative and infinitive use.