attendre

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French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French atendre, from Latin attendere.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.tɑ̃dʁ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɑ̃dr

Verb

attendre

  1. (transitive) to wait for, to await
    Je l’attends. ― I'm waiting for her/him.
    On attend le beau temps pour partir.
    We're waiting for good weather to head out.
    J’attends mon cousin à la gare.
    I'm waiting for my cousin at the station.
    • 1957, Paul Guth, Le mariage du Naïf, Le Livre de Poche, page 44:
      J’adore attendre. Ce sont les seuls moments de la vie où je me repose. Parfois je vais chez le coiffeur quand je n’en ai pas besoin, uniquement pour avoir le plaisir d’attendre.
      I love waiting. It's the only moment in life where I relax. Sometimes I go to the hairdresser's even when I don't need to, solely to have the pleasure of waiting.
  2. to expect
    On attendait mieux de toi.
    We expected better from you.
  3. (reflexive, followed by à) to expect
    Je m’attendais à pire. ― I expected worse.
    Il s’attend à ce que tu viennes ce soir.
    He expects you to come tonight.
    Pourquoi est-ce que je me suis attendu à ce que vous ayez la gentillesse de me laisser tranquille ?
    Why did I expect you to be nice enough to leave me in peace?
    • 1904, Frédéric Weisgerber, Trois mois de campagne au Maroc : étude géographique de la région parcourue, Paris: Ernest Leroux, page 38:
      Notre hôte, absent au moment de notre arrivée, ne tarde pas à paraître et me fait l’accueil auquel je m’attendais de sa part.
      Our host, absent at the time of our arrival, did not take long to appear and gave me the welcome which I expected of him.
  4. (Louisiana) Alternative form of entendre, to hear
    Quand t’étais petit, t’attendais le français à la Messe ou a l’église?
    When you were little, would you hear French at Mass or at church?

Usage notes

  • This is a false friend in French, and does not mean “to attend” under any circumstances.

Conjugation

Conjugation of attendre (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple attendre
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple attendant
/a.tɑ̃.dɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle attendu
/a.tɑ̃.dy/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present attends
/a.tɑ̃/ 		attends
/a.tɑ̃/ 		attend
/a.tɑ̃/ 		attendons
/a.tɑ̃.dɔ̃/ 		attendez
/a.tɑ̃.de/ 		attendent
/a.tɑ̃d/
imperfect attendais
/a.tɑ̃.dɛ/ 		attendais
/a.tɑ̃.dɛ/ 		attendait
/a.tɑ̃.dɛ/ 		attendions
/a.tɑ̃.djɔ̃/ 		attendiez
/a.tɑ̃.dje/ 		attendaient
/a.tɑ̃.dɛ/
past historic2 attendis
/a.tɑ̃.di/ 		attendis
/a.tɑ̃.di/ 		attendit
/a.tɑ̃.di/ 		attendîmes
/a.tɑ̃.dim/ 		attendîtes
/a.tɑ̃.dit/ 		attendirent
/a.tɑ̃.diʁ/
future attendrai
/a.tɑ̃.dʁe/ 		attendras
/a.tɑ̃.dʁa/ 		attendra
/a.tɑ̃.dʁa/ 		attendrons
/a.tɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ 		attendrez
/a.tɑ̃.dʁe/ 		attendront
/a.tɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/
conditional attendrais
/a.tɑ̃.dʁɛ/ 		attendrais
/a.tɑ̃.dʁɛ/ 		attendrait
/a.tɑ̃.dʁɛ/ 		attendrions
/a.tɑ̃.dʁi.jɔ̃/ 		attendriez
/a.tɑ̃.dʁi.je/ 		attendraient
/a.tɑ̃.dʁɛ/
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present attende
/a.tɑ̃d/ 		attendes
/a.tɑ̃d/ 		attende
/a.tɑ̃d/ 		attendions
/a.tɑ̃.djɔ̃/ 		attendiez
/a.tɑ̃.dje/ 		attendent
/a.tɑ̃d/
imperfect2 attendisse
/a.tɑ̃.dis/ 		attendisses
/a.tɑ̃.dis/ 		attendît
/a.tɑ̃.di/ 		attendissions
/a.tɑ̃.di.sjɔ̃/ 		attendissiez
/a.tɑ̃.di.sje/ 		attendissent
/a.tɑ̃.dis/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — attends
/a.tɑ̃/ 		— attendons
/a.tɑ̃.dɔ̃/ 		attendez
/a.tɑ̃.de/ 		—
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
  • past historic → present perfect
  • past anterior → pluperfect
  • imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive
  • pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive

(Christopher Kendris , Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Norman

Etymology

From Old French atendre, borrowed from Latin attendere, present active infinitive of attendō.

Verb

attendre

  1. (Jersey) to wait
  2. (Guernsey, reflexive, s'attendre) to expect
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