quérir

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See also: querir

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French querir, from Old French querre (with conjugation change), from Latin quaerere (“to seek”). Compare also Walloon cweri. Cognate with Spanish querer.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ke.ʁiʁ/
  • Audio(file)

Verb

quérir

  1. (literary or archaic) to seek; used especially after certain verbs
    Il a fait (ou envoyé) quérir son frère. ― He bade his brother come.
    Il est allé quérir le château. ― He went in quest of the castle.
  2. (archaic) to want

Conjugation

  • Many dictionaries give quérir as a defective verb, only appearing as an infinitive. However historically, it has a conjugation.

This verb is impersonal and is conjugated only in the third-person singular.

Conjugation of quérir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple quérir
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple quérant
/ke.ʁɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle quis
/ki/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present — — quiert
/kjɛʁ/ 		— — —
imperfect — — quérait
/ke.ʁɛ/ 		— — —
past historic2 — — quit
/ki/ 		— — —
future — — querra
/kɛ.ʁa/ or /ke.ʁa/ 		— — —
conditional — — querrait
/kɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ke.ʁɛ/ 		— — —
(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 — — quière
/kjɛʁ/ 		— — —
imperfect2 — — quît
/ki/ 		— — —
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — — — — — —
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).

Conjugation of quérir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple quérir
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple quérant
/ke.ʁɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle quis
/ki/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present quiers
/kjɛʁ/ 		quiers
/kjɛʁ/ 		quiert
/kjɛʁ/ 		quérons
/ke.ʁɔ̃/ 		quérez
/ke.ʁe/ 		quièrent
/kjɛʁ/
imperfect quérais
/ke.ʁɛ/ 		quérais
/ke.ʁɛ/ 		quérait
/ke.ʁɛ/ 		quérions
/ke.ʁjɔ̃/ 		quériez
/ke.ʁje/ 		quéraient
/ke.ʁɛ/
past historic2 quis
/ki/ 		quis
/ki/ 		quit
/ki/ 		quîmes
/kim/ 		quîtes
/kit/ 		quirent
/kiʁ/
future querrai
/kɛ.ʁe/ or /ke.ʁe/ 		querras
/kɛ.ʁa/ or /ke.ʁa/ 		querra
/kɛ.ʁa/ or /ke.ʁa/ 		querrons
/kɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /ke.ʁɔ̃/ 		querrez
/kɛ.ʁe/ or /ke.ʁe/ 		querront
/kɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /ke.ʁɔ̃/
conditional querrais
/kɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ke.ʁɛ/ 		querrais
/kɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ke.ʁɛ/ 		querrait
/kɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ke.ʁɛ/ 		querrions
/kɛ.ʁjɔ̃/ or /ke.ʁjɔ̃/ 		querriez
/kɛ.ʁje/ or /ke.ʁje/ 		querraient
/kɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ke.ʁɛ/
(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 quière
/kjɛʁ/ 		quières
/kjɛʁ/ 		quière
/kjɛʁ/ 		quérions
/ke.ʁjɔ̃/ 		quériez
/ke.ʁje/ 		quièrent
/kjɛʁ/
imperfect2 quisse
/kis/ 		quisses
/kis/ 		quît
/ki/ 		quissions
/ki.sjɔ̃/ 		quissiez
/ki.sje/ 		quissent
/kis/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — quiers
/kjɛʁ/ 		— quérons
/ke.ʁɔ̃/ 		quérez
/ke.ʁe/ 		—
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

Descendants

  • Sabir: quérir

Further reading

Sabir

Etymology

From French quérir (“to seek”).

Verb

quérir

  1. to want

References

  • Feissat et Demonchy, Dictionnaire de la Langue Franque, ou Petit Mauresque
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia