Definify.com
Definition 2024
refléter
refléter
French
refléter
Verb
refléter
- to reflect (to mirror, or show the image of something)
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 refléter-, reflecting the historic pronunciation /e/. In 1990, the French Academy recommended that it be written reflèter-, 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 refléter (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | refléter | avoir reflété | |||||
| gerund | en reflétant | en ayant reflété | |||||
| present participle | reflétant /ʁə.fle.tɑ̃/ |
||||||
| past participle | reflété /ʁə.fle.te/ |
||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | reflète /ʁə.flɛt/ |
reflètes /ʁə.flɛt/ |
reflète /ʁə.flɛt/ |
reflétons /ʁə.fle.tɔ̃/ |
reflétez /ʁə.fle.te/ |
reflètent /ʁə.flɛt/ |
| imperfect | reflétais /ʁə.fle.tɛ/ |
reflétais /ʁə.fle.tɛ/ |
reflétait /ʁə.fle.tɛ/ |
reflétions /ʁə.fle.tjɔ̃/ |
reflétiez /ʁə.fle.tje/ |
reflétaient /ʁə.fle.tɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | reflétai /ʁə.fle.te/ |
reflétas /ʁə.fle.ta/ |
refléta /ʁə.fle.ta/ |
reflétâmes /ʁə.fle.tam/ |
reflétâtes /ʁə.fle.tat/ |
reflétèrent /ʁə.fle.tɛʁ/ |
|
| future | reflèterai or refléterai /ʁə.flɛ.tʁe/ |
reflèteras or refléteras /ʁə.flɛ.tʁa/ |
reflètera or reflétera /ʁə.flɛ.tʁa/ |
reflèterons or refléterons /ʁə.flɛ.tʁɔ̃/ |
reflèterez or refléterez /ʁə.flɛ.tʁe/ |
reflèteront or refléteront /ʁə.flɛ.tʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | reflèterais or refléterais /ʁə.flɛ.tʁɛ/ |
reflèterais or refléterais /ʁə.flɛ.tʁɛ/ |
reflèterait or refléterait /ʁə.flɛ.tʁɛ/ |
reflèterions or refléterions /ʁə.flɛ.tə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
reflèteriez or refléteriez /ʁə.flɛ.tə.ʁje/ |
reflèteraient or refléteraient /ʁə.flɛ.tʁɛ/ |
|
| 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 | reflète /ʁə.flɛt/ |
reflètes /ʁə.flɛt/ |
reflète /ʁə.flɛt/ |
reflétions /ʁə.fle.tjɔ̃/ |
reflétiez /ʁə.fle.tje/ |
reflètent /ʁə.flɛt/ |
| imperfect1 |
reflétasse /ʁə.fle.tas/ |
reflétasses /ʁə.fle.tas/ |
reflétât /ʁə.fle.ta/ |
reflétassions /ʁə.fle.ta.sjɔ̃/ |
reflétassiez /ʁə.fle.ta.sje/ |
reflétassent /ʁə.fle.tas/ |
|
| 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 | – | |
| — | reflète /ʁə.flɛt/ |
— | reflétons /ʁə.fle.tɔ̃/ |
reflétez /ʁə.fle.te/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||