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Definition 2024
vaincre
vaincre
French
Verb
vaincre
- (intransitive) to win
- (transitive) to defeat, vanquish
- 1965 November, Carlo François, "Poésie d'André Marissel", in The French Review, American Association of Teachers of French, Volume 39, Number 2, pages 265–274,
- Le jardinier-poète sait parfois qu’il est fécond et que son Arbre est fertile. Ne vainc-t-il pas la mort chaque fois qu’il plante un arbre-poème?
- The gardener-poet knows sometimes that he is fecund and that his Tree is fertile. Does he not defeat death every time he plants a tree-poem?
- Le jardinier-poète sait parfois qu’il est fécond et que son Arbre est fertile. Ne vainc-t-il pas la mort chaque fois qu’il plante un arbre-poème?
- 1965 November, Carlo François, "Poésie d'André Marissel", in The French Review, American Association of Teachers of French, Volume 39, Number 2, pages 265–274,
Conjugation
This verb is conjugated like vendre, except that its usual stem vainqu- becomes vainc- when either there is no ending, or the ending starts with -u- or a written consonant. Additionally, when inverted the third person singular in the present adds the infix -t-: vainc-t-il? These are strictly spelling changes; pronunciation-wise, the verb is conjugated exactly like vendre.
Conjugation of vaincre (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | vaincre | avoir vaincu | |||||
| gerund | en vainquant | en ayant vaincu | |||||
| present participle | vainquant /vɛ̃.kɑ̃/ |
||||||
| past participle | vaincu /vɛ̃.ky/ |
||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | vaincs /vɛ̃/ |
vaincs /vɛ̃/ |
vainc /vɛ̃/ |
vainquons /vɛ̃.kɔ̃/ |
vainquez /vɛ̃.ke/ |
vainquent /vɛ̃k/ |
| imperfect | vainquais /vɛ̃.kɛ/ |
vainquais /vɛ̃.kɛ/ |
vainquait /vɛ̃.kɛ/ |
vainquions /vɛ̃.kjɔ̃/ |
vainquiez /vɛ̃.kje/ |
vainquaient /vɛ̃.kɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | vainquis /vɛ̃.ki/ |
vainquis /vɛ̃.ki/ |
vainquit /vɛ̃.ki/ |
vainquîmes /vɛ̃.kim/ |
vainquîtes /vɛ̃.kit/ |
vainquirent /vɛ̃.kiʁ/ |
|
| future | vaincrai /vɛ̃.kʁe/ |
vaincras /vɛ̃.kʁa/ |
vaincra /vɛ̃.kʁa/ |
vaincrons /vɛ̃.kʁɔ̃/ |
vaincrez /vɛ̃.kʁe/ |
vaincront /vɛ̃.kʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | vaincrais /vɛ̃.kʁɛ/ |
vaincrais /vɛ̃.kʁɛ/ |
vaincrait /vɛ̃.kʁɛ/ |
vaincrions /vɛ̃.kʁi.jɔ̃/ |
vaincriez /vɛ̃.kʁi.je/ |
vaincraient /vɛ̃.kʁɛ/ |
|
| 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 | vainque /vɛ̃k/ |
vainques /vɛ̃k/ |
vainque /vɛ̃k/ |
vainquions /vɛ̃.kjɔ̃/ |
vainquiez /vɛ̃.kje/ |
vainquent /vɛ̃k/ |
| imperfect1 |
vainquisse /vɛ̃.kis/ |
vainquisses /vɛ̃.kis/ |
vainquît /vɛ̃.ki/ |
vainquissions /vɛ̃.ki.sjɔ̃/ |
vainquissiez /vɛ̃.ki.sje/ |
vainquissent /vɛ̃.kis/ |
|
| 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 | – | |
| — | vaincs /vɛ̃/ |
— | vainquons /vɛ̃.kɔ̃/ |
vainquez /vɛ̃.ke/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||
Synonyms
Derived terms
- convaincre
- vainqueur, vainqueuse