descendre
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French descendre, from Old French descendre, borrowed from Latin descendere.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
descendre
- (intransitive) to go down
- (intransitive, transitive) to descend
- (transitive) to put down; disparage
- (transitive, slang) to kill (someone)
- (intransitive) to stay (in a hotel or other temporary lodging)
Usage notes edit
- This verb uses the auxiliary verb avoir when used transitively (or with a transitive sense, even when the complement is omitted); otherwise (when it is intransitive), it uses être.
- elle a descendu les valises ― she brought down the suitcases
- il est descendu de l’armoire ― he came down from the wardrobe
Conjugation edit
Conjugation of descendre (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | descendre | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | descendant /de.sɑ̃.dɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant or étant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | descendu /de.sɑ̃.dy/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | descends /de.sɑ̃/ |
descends /de.sɑ̃/ |
descend /de.sɑ̃/ |
descendons /de.sɑ̃.dɔ̃/ |
descendez /de.sɑ̃.de/ |
descendent /de.sɑ̃d/ |
| imperfect | descendais /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ |
descendais /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ |
descendait /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ |
descendions /de.sɑ̃.djɔ̃/ |
descendiez /de.sɑ̃.dje/ |
descendaient /de.sɑ̃.dɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | descendis /de.sɑ̃.di/ |
descendis /de.sɑ̃.di/ |
descendit /de.sɑ̃.di/ |
descendîmes /de.sɑ̃.dim/ |
descendîtes /de.sɑ̃.dit/ |
descendirent /de.sɑ̃.diʁ/ | |
| future | descendrai /de.sɑ̃.dʁe/ |
descendras /de.sɑ̃.dʁa/ |
descendra /de.sɑ̃.dʁa/ |
descendrons /de.sɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ |
descendrez /de.sɑ̃.dʁe/ |
descendront /de.sɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | descendrais /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ |
descendrais /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ |
descendrait /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ |
descendrions /de.sɑ̃.dʁi.jɔ̃/ |
descendriez /de.sɑ̃.dʁi.je/ |
descendraient /de.sɑ̃.dʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir or être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | descende /de.sɑ̃d/ |
descendes /de.sɑ̃d/ |
descende /de.sɑ̃d/ |
descendions /de.sɑ̃.djɔ̃/ |
descendiez /de.sɑ̃.dje/ |
descendent /de.sɑ̃d/ |
| imperfect2 | descendisse /de.sɑ̃.dis/ |
descendisses /de.sɑ̃.dis/ |
descendît /de.sɑ̃.di/ |
descendissions /de.sɑ̃.di.sjɔ̃/ |
descendissiez /de.sɑ̃.di.sje/ |
descendissent /de.sɑ̃.dis/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir or être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir or être + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | descends /de.sɑ̃/ |
— | descendons /de.sɑ̃.dɔ̃/ |
descendez /de.sɑ̃.de/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir or être + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir or être + past participle | simple imperative of avoir or être + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “descendre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Middle French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French descendre.
Verb edit
descendre
- to dismount (get down from a horse, etc.)
Descendants edit
- French: descendre
Occitan edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb edit
descendre
Related terms edit
References edit
- Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, page 189.
Old French edit
Etymology edit
From Latin descendō, descendere.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
descendre
- to go down; to descend
- to dismount (get down from a horse, etc.)
- c. 1250, Marie de France, Guigemar:
- Son seignur veit, a pié descent
- He sees his master, and goes down to him on foot
Conjugation edit
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of descendre (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | descendre | avoir descendu | |||||
| gerund | en descendant | gerund of avoir + past participle | |||||
| present participle | descendant | ||||||
| past participle | descendu | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses |
present | descent | descenz | descent | descendons | descendez | descendent |
| imperfect | descendoie, descendeie | descendoies, descendeies | descendoit, descendeit | descendiiens, descendiens | descendiiez, descendiez | descendoient, descendeient | |
| preterite | descendi | descendis | descendié | descendimes | descendistes | descendierent | |
| future | descendrai | descendras | descendra | descendrons | descendroiz, descendreiz, descendrez | descendront | |
| conditional | descendroie, descendreie | descendroies, descendreies | descendroit, descendreit | descendriiens, descendriens | descendriiez, descendriez | descendroient, descendreient | |
| compound tenses |
present perfect | present tense of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | preterite tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses |
present | descende | descendes | descende | descendons | descendez | descendent |
| imperfect | descendisse | descendisses | descendist | descendissons, descendissiens | descendissoiz, descendissez, descendissiez | descendissent | |
| compound tenses |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | descent | — | descendons | descendez | — | ||
Descendants edit
- Middle French: descendre
- French: descendre
- Jersey Norman: d'scendre
- → Middle English: descenden
- English: descend