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 Portuguese querer and 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