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Definition 2025

se_servir

servir

Asturian

Verb

servir

  1. to serve

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /səɾˈβi/
  • Rhymes: -i(ɾ)
  • Homophone: serví

Etymology

From Old Provençal servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir ‎(first-person singular present serveixo, past participle servit)

  1. to serve
  2. to be useful

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

References

French

Etymology

From Middle French servir, from Old French servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɛʁ.viʁ/

Verb

servir

  1. to serve (to bring a meal to someone)
  2. to be used for
  3. to be useful for someone, to be of use, come in handy.
  4. (sports) to serve (start a point with service)
  5. (sports) to set up (pass to, in order to give a scoring chance)
  6. (reflexive) to help oneself, to serve oneself
  7. (reflexive, with de) to use, make use of

Conjugation

This is one of a fairly large group of irregular -ir verbs that are all conjugated the same way. Other members of this group include sortir and dormir. The most significant difference between these verbs' conjugation and that of the regular -ir verbs is that these verbs' conjugation does not use the infix -iss-. Further, this conjugation has the forms (je, tu) sers and (il) sert in the present indicative and imperative, whereas a regular -ir verb would have *servis and *servit (as in the past historic).

  Conjugation of servir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive servir avoir servi
gerund en servant en ayant servi
present participle servant
/sɛʁ.vɑ̃/
past participle servi
/sɛʁ.vi/
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il nous vous ils
simple
tenses		 present sers
/sɛʁ/ 		sers
/sɛʁ/ 		sert
/sɛʁ/ 		servons
/sɛʁ.vɔ̃/ 		servez
/sɛʁ.ve/ 		servent
/sɛʁv/
imperfect servais
/sɛʁ.vɛ/ 		servais
/sɛʁ.vɛ/ 		servait
/sɛʁ.vɛ/ 		servions
/sɛʁ.vjɔ̃/ 		serviez
/sɛʁ.vje/ 		servaient
/sɛʁ.vɛ/
past historic1 servis
/sɛʁ.vi/ 		servis
/sɛʁ.vi/ 		servit
/sɛʁ.vi/ 		servîmes
/sɛʁ.vim/ 		servîtes
/sɛʁ.vit/ 		servirent
/sɛʁ.viʁ/
future servirai
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁe/ 		serviras
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁa/ 		servira
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁa/ 		servirons
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁɔ̃/ 		servirez
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁe/ 		serviront
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁɔ̃/
conditional servirais
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/ 		servirais
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/ 		servirait
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/ 		servirions
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁjɔ̃/ 		serviriez
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁje/ 		serviraient
/sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/
compound
tenses		 present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior1 Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il que nous que vous qu’ils
simple
tenses		 present serve
/sɛʁv/ 		serves
/sɛʁv/ 		serve
/sɛʁv/ 		servions
/sɛʁ.vjɔ̃/ 		serviez
/sɛʁ.vje/ 		servent
/sɛʁv/
imperfect1 servisse
/sɛʁ.vis/ 		servisses
/sɛʁ.vis/ 		servît
/sɛʁ.vi/ 		servissions
/sɛʁ.vi.sjɔ̃/ 		servissiez
/sɛʁ.vi.sje/ 		servissent
/sɛʁ.vis/
compound
tenses		 past Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect1 Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
— sers
/sɛʁ/ 		— servons
/sɛʁ.vɔ̃/ 		servez
/sɛʁ.ve/ 		—
1literary tenses

Related terms

Interlingua

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /serˈvir/

Verb

servir

  1. to serve

Conjugation

Italian

Verb

servir

  1. apocopic form of servire

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

  1. to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

Descendants

Occitan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /səɾˈβi/

Etymology

From Old Provençal servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

  1. to serve
  2. to be useful

Conjugation

Related terms

Old French

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

  1. to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

Conjugation

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 servir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive servir avoir servi
gerund en servant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle servant
past participle servi
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses		 present serf sers sert servons servez servent
imperfect servoie, serveie servoies, serveies servoit, serveit serviiens, serviens serviiez, serviez servoient, serveient
preterite servi servis servi servimes servistes servirent
future servirai serviras servira servirons serviroiz, servireiz, servirez serviront
conditional serviroie, servireie serviroies, servireies serviroit, servireit serviriiens, serviriens serviriiez, serviriez serviroient, servireient
compound
tenses		 present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses		 present serve serves serve servons servez servent
imperfect servisse servisses servist servissons, servissiens servissoiz, servissez, servissiez servissent
compound
tenses		 past Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— serf — servons servez —

Related terms

Descendants

Old Provençal

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

  1. to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

Descendants

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

Verb

servir ‎(first-person singular present indicative sirvo, past participle servido)

  1. (transitive) to serve (to work as a servant for someone)
  2. (religion, transitive) to serve (to worship a god)
  3. (transitive) to serve (to give out or place down food or drink)
  4. (intransitive, or transitive with em) to serve (to be part of an armed force)
    Servi dois anos na Legião Estrangeira.‎
    I served for two years in the Foreign Legion.
  5. (intransitive) to suffice; to do (to be good enough for a task)
    Esse martelo é ruim mas serve.‎
    This hammer is bad but it will do.
  6. (subordinating, transitive with para) to be for (to have as its purpose or utility)
    Martelos servem para as pessoas baterem pregos.‎
    Hammers are for people to hit nails with.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:servir.

Conjugation

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir ‎(first-person singular present sirvo, first-person singular preterite serví, past participle servido)

  1. to serve
  2. to be of use

Conjugation

  • Rule: e weakens to i in certain conjugations.
    Conjugation of servir (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)edit data
infinitive servir
gerund sirviendo
past participle masculine feminine
singular servido servida
plural servidos servidas
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
indicative yo tú
vos		 él/ella
usted		 nosotros
nosotras		 vosotros
vosotras		 ellos/ellas
ustedes
present sirvo sirvestú
servísvos 		sirve servimos servís sirven
imperfect servía servías servía servíamos servíais servían
preterite serví serviste sirvió servimos servisteis sirvieron
future serviré servirás servirá serviremos serviréis servirán
conditional serviría servirías serviría serviríamos serviríais servirían
subjunctive yo tú
vos		 él/ella
usted		 nosotros
nosotras		 vosotros
vosotras		 ellos/ellas
ustedes
present sirva sirvas sirva sirvamos sirváis sirvan
imperfect
(ra)		 sirviera sirvieras sirviera sirviéramos sirvierais sirvieran
imperfect
(se)		 sirviese sirvieses sirviese sirviésemos sirvieseis sirviesen
future sirviere sirvieres sirviere sirviéremos sirviereis sirvieren
imperative — tú
vos		 usted nosotros
nosotras		 vosotros
vosotras		 ustedes
affirmative sirvetú
servívos 		sirva sirvamos servid sirvan
negative no sirvas no sirva no sirvamos no sirváis no sirvan

Other verbs with this conjugation:

<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:Spanish_verbs_ending_in_-ir_(conjugation_e-i)'>Spanish verbs ending in -ir (conjugation e-i)</a>
    Selected combined forms of serviredit data

These forms are generated automatically and may not be attested. Pronoun usage varies by region.

singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
with infinitive servir
dative servirme servirte, servirle servirle, servirse servirnos serviros, servirles servirles, servirse
accusative servirme servirte, servirlo, servirla servirlo, servirla, servirse servirnos serviros, servirlos, servirlas servirlos, servirlas, servirse
with gerund sirviendo
dative sirviéndome sirviéndote, sirviéndole sirviéndole, sirviéndose sirviéndonos sirviéndoos, sirviéndoles sirviéndoles, sirviéndose
accusative sirviéndome sirviéndote, sirviéndolo, sirviéndola sirviéndolo, sirviéndola, sirviéndose sirviéndonos sirviéndoos, sirviéndolos, sirviéndolas sirviéndolos, sirviéndolas, sirviéndose
with informal second-person singular imperative sirve
dative sirveme sirvete, sirvele sirvele sirvenos sirveos, sirveles sirveles
accusative sirveme sirvete, sirvelo, sirvela sirvelo, sirvela sirvenos sirveos, sirvelos, sirvelas sirvelos, sirvelas
with formal second-person singular imperative sirva
dative sírvame sírvate, sírvale sírvale, sírvase sírvanos sírvales sírvales, sírvase
accusative sírvame sírvate, sírvalo, sírvala sírvalo, sírvala, sírvase sírvanos sírvalos, sírvalas sírvalos, sírvalas, sírvase
with first-person plural imperative sirvamos
dative not used sirvámosle sirvámosle sirvámonos sirvámosles sirvámosles
accusative not used sirvámoslo, sirvámosla sirvámoslo, sirvámosla sirvámonos sirvámoslos, sirvámoslas sirvámoslos, sirvámoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative servid
dative servidme servidle servidle servidnos servíos, servidles servidles
accusative servidme servidlo, servidla servidlo, servidla servidnos servíos, servidlos, servidlas servidlos, servidlas
with formal second-person plural imperative sirvan
dative sírvanme sírvante, sírvanle sírvanle, sírvanse sírvanos sírvanles sírvanles, sírvanse
accusative sírvanme sírvante, sírvanlo, sírvanla sírvanlo, sírvanla, sírvanse sírvanos sírvanlos, sírvanlas sírvanlos, sírvanlas, sírvanse

Related terms

Venetian

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō. Compare Italian servire.

Verb

servir

  1. (transitive or intransitive) To serve

Conjugation

  • Venetian conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of servir (third conjugation)
infinitive servir
auxiliary verb aver gerund servéndo
past participle servito, servìo
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative mi ti eło / eła noialtri / noialtre voialtri / voialtre łuri / łore
present serviso (te) servisi (el/ła) servise servimo servì (i/łe) servise
imperfect servìa (te) servivi (el/ła) servìa servìvimo servivi (i/łe) servìa
future servirò (te) servirè (el/ła) servirà servirémo servirè (i/łe) servirà
conditional mi ti eło / eła noialtri / noialtre voialtri / voialtre łuri / łore
present servirìa (te) servirisi (el/ła) servirìa servirìsimo servirisi (i/łe) servirìa
subjunctive che mi che ti che eło / eła che noialtri / noialtre che voialtri / voialtre che łuri / łore
present servisa (te) servisi (el/ła) servisa servimo servì (i/łe) servisa
imperfect servise (te) servisi (el/ła) servise servisimo servisi (i/łe) servise
imperative — ti eło / eła noialtri / noialtre voialtri / voialtre łuri / łore
— (te) servisi (el/ła) servisa servimo servì (i/łe) servisa

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

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