entreprendre
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French, from Old French entreprendre (“to begin something, undertake”). By surface analysis, entre + prendre.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
entreprendre
- to undertake
Conjugation edit
This verb is conjugated on the model of prendre. That means it is quite irregular, with the following patterns:
- In the infinitive, in the singular forms of the present indicative, and in the future and the conditional, it is conjugated like rendre, perdre, etc. (sometimes called the regular -re verbs).
- In the plural forms of the present indicative and imperative, in the imperfect indicative, in the present subjunctive, and in the present participle, it is conjugated like appeler or jeter, using the stem entreprenn- before mute 'e' and the stem entrepren- elsewhere.
- In the past participle, and in the past historic and the imperfect subjunctive, its conjugation resembles that of mettre.
infinitive | simple | entreprendre | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
present participle or gerund1 | simple | entreprenant /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɑ̃/ | |||||
compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
past participle | entrepris /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi/ | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | entreprends /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃/ |
entreprends /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃/ |
entreprend /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃/ |
entreprenons /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɔ̃/ |
entreprenez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.ne/ |
entreprennent /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɛn/ |
imperfect | entreprenais /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɛ/ |
entreprenais /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɛ/ |
entreprenait /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɛ/ |
entreprenions /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.njɔ̃/ |
entrepreniez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nje/ |
entreprenaient /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɛ/ | |
past historic2 | entrepris /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi/ |
entrepris /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi/ |
entreprit /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi/ |
entreprîmes /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁim/ |
entreprîtes /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁit/ |
entreprirent /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁiʁ/ | |
future | entreprendrai /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁe/ |
entreprendras /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁa/ |
entreprendra /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁa/ |
entreprendrons /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ |
entreprendrez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁe/ |
entreprendront /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ | |
conditional | entreprendrais /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁɛ/ |
entreprendrais /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁɛ/ |
entreprendrait /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁɛ/ |
entreprendrions /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁi.jɔ̃/ |
entreprendriez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁi.je/ |
entreprendraient /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃.dʁɛ/ | |
(compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | entreprenne /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɛn/ |
entreprennes /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɛn/ |
entreprenne /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɛn/ |
entreprenions /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.njɔ̃/ |
entrepreniez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nje/ |
entreprennent /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɛn/ |
imperfect2 | entreprisse /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁis/ |
entreprisses /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁis/ |
entreprît /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi/ |
entreprissions /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi.sjɔ̃/ |
entreprissiez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi.sje/ |
entreprissent /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁis/ | |
(compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | – | – | ||||
simple | — | entreprends /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁɑ̃/ |
— | entreprenons /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.nɔ̃/ |
entreprenez /ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁə.ne/ |
— | |
compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + 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). |
Descendants edit
- → Polish: przedsiębrać, przedsięwziąć (calque)
Further reading edit
- “entreprendre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle French edit
Verb edit
entreprendre
- to undertake
- 1552, François Rabelais, Le Tiers Livre:
- Quand les Geantz entreprindrent guerre contre les Dieux
- When the Giants took up war against the Gods
- 1595, Michel de Montaigne, Essais:
- Il vous siera bien, leur dit-il, de vouloir entreprendre de juger de la teste de celuy, par le moyen duquel vous avez l'authorité de juger de tout le monde.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Old French edit
Etymology edit
From entre + prendre, by calque of Frankish *underneman (“to undertake”), from *under (“between, among”) + *neman (“to take”). Compare Old High German untarneman (“undertake”) (German Unternehmen), Old English underniman (“undertake”), Dutch ondernemen (“undertake”).
Verb edit
entreprendre
- to capture; to take; to abduct
- to undertake (a responsibility, etc.)
- to protect
- to take (reciprocally)
- Puis s'entreprendent par les dois
- Then they took each other by the fingers
Conjugation edit
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Descendants edit
- Middle French: entreprendre
- English: enterprise (borrowed from Middle French entreprise, from the verb entreprendre)
- French: entreprendre
References edit
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (entreprendre)