French

Verb

retourner

1. (transitive) to turn over, turn upside-down; (in cooking) to turn
2. (transitive) to toss (salad), turn over (earth, soil)
3. (transitive) to return, send back (an object)
4. (intransitive) to return, go back (to/from a place)
5. (intransitive) to return, revert (à to) (a state etc)
6. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to turn over; to overturn, capsize
7. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to turn round (turn one's head)
8. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to be reversed, be turned round (of a situation etc.)
9. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to get organised

Usage notes

• This verb uses the auxiliary verb avoir when used transitively (or with a transitive sense, even when the complement is omitted); otherwise (when it is intransitive), it uses être.

  elle est retournée chez elle‎ ― she went back to her house

  il a retourné sa chaise‎ ― he turned his chair over

Conjugation

Middle French

Verb

retourner

1. to return; to come back

Conjugation

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Old French

Verb

retourner

1. Alternative form of retorner

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-rns, *-rnt are modified to rz, rt. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.