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Definition 2024
posséder
posséder
See also: posseder
French
Verb
posséder
Conjugation
This verb is conjugated like céder. It is a regular -er verb, except that its last stem vowel alternates between /e/ (written ‘é’) and /ɛ/ (written ‘è’), with the latter being used before mute ‘e’. One special case is the future stem, used in the future and the conditional. Before 1990, the future stem of such verbs was written posséder-, reflecting the historic pronunciation /e/. In 1990, the French Academy recommended that it be written possèder-, reflecting the now common pronunciation /ɛ/, thereby making this distinction consistent throughout the conjugation (and also matching in this regard the conjugations of verbs like lever and jeter). Both spellings are in use today, and both are therefore given here.
Conjugation of posséder (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | posséder | avoir possédé | |||||
| gerund | en possédant | en ayant possédé | |||||
| present participle | possédant /pɔ.se.dɑ̃/ |
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| past participle | possédé /pɔ.se.de/ |
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| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | possède /pɔ.sɛd/ |
possèdes /pɔ.sɛd/ |
possède /pɔ.sɛd/ |
possédons /pɔ.se.dɔ̃/ |
possédez /pɔ.se.de/ |
possèdent /pɔ.sɛd/ |
| imperfect | possédais /pɔ.se.dɛ/ |
possédais /pɔ.se.dɛ/ |
possédait /pɔ.se.dɛ/ |
possédions /pɔ.se.djɔ̃/ |
possédiez /pɔ.se.dje/ |
possédaient /pɔ.se.dɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | possédai /pɔ.se.de/ |
possédas /pɔ.se.da/ |
posséda /pɔ.se.da/ |
possédâmes /pɔ.se.dam/ |
possédâtes /pɔ.se.dat/ |
possédèrent /pɔ.se.dɛʁ/ |
|
| future | possèderai or posséderai /pɔ.sɛ.dʁe/ |
possèderas or posséderas /pɔ.sɛ.dʁa/ |
possèdera or possédera /pɔ.sɛ.dʁa/ |
possèderons or posséderons /pɔ.sɛ.dʁɔ̃/ |
possèderez or posséderez /pɔ.sɛ.dʁe/ |
possèderont or posséderont /pɔ.sɛ.dʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | possèderais or posséderais /pɔ.sɛ.dʁɛ/ |
possèderais or posséderais /pɔ.sɛ.dʁɛ/ |
possèderait or posséderait /pɔ.sɛ.dʁɛ/ |
possèderions or posséderions /pɔ.sɛ.də.ʁjɔ̃/ |
possèderiez or posséderiez /pɔ.sɛ.də.ʁje/ |
possèderaient or posséderaient /pɔ.sɛ.dʁɛ/ |
|
| 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 | possède /pɔ.sɛd/ |
possèdes /pɔ.sɛd/ |
possède /pɔ.sɛd/ |
possédions /pɔ.se.djɔ̃/ |
possédiez /pɔ.se.dje/ |
possèdent /pɔ.sɛd/ |
| imperfect1 |
possédasse /pɔ.se.das/ |
possédasses /pɔ.se.das/ |
possédât /pɔ.se.da/ |
possédassions /pɔ.se.da.sjɔ̃/ |
possédassiez /pɔ.se.da.sje/ |
possédassent /pɔ.se.das/ |
|
| 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 | – | |
| — | possède /pɔ.sɛd/ |
— | possédons /pɔ.se.dɔ̃/ |
possédez /pɔ.se.de/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||