clouer
French
Etymology
From clou (“nail”), or alternatively from Late Latin clāvāre, present active infinitive of clāvō, from Latin clāvus. Compare Italian chiavare, Catalan clavar.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /klu.e/
Audio (file) - Homophones: clouai, cloué, clouée, clouées, cloués, clouez
Verb
clouer
- to nail (to attach using a nail)
- (vulgar) to nail, shag, fuck
Conjugation
Conjugation of clouer (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive | simple | clouer | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
present participle or gerund1 | simple | clouant /klu.ɑ̃/ | |||||
compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
past participle | cloué /klu.e/ | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
(simple tenses) | present | cloue /klu/ | cloues /klu/ | cloue /klu/ | clouons /klu.ɔ̃/ | clouez /klu.e/ | clouent /klu/ |
imperfect | clouais /klu.ɛ/ | clouais /klu.ɛ/ | clouait /klu.ɛ/ | clouions /klu.jɔ̃/ | clouiez /klu.je/ | clouaient /klu.ɛ/ | |
past historic2 | clouai /klu.e/ | clouas /klu.a/ | cloua /klu.a/ | clouâmes /klu.am/ | clouâtes /klu.at/ | clouèrent /klu.ɛʁ/ | |
future | clouerai /klu.ʁe/ | cloueras /klu.ʁa/ | clouera /klu.ʁa/ | clouerons /klu.ʁɔ̃/ | clouerez /klu.ʁe/ | cloueront /klu.ʁɔ̃/ | |
conditional | clouerais /klu.ʁɛ/ | clouerais /klu.ʁɛ/ | clouerait /klu.ʁɛ/ | clouerions /klu.ʁjɔ̃/ | cloueriez /klu.ʁje/ | cloueraient /klu.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 | cloue /klu/ | cloues /klu/ | cloue /klu/ | clouions /klu.jɔ̃/ | clouiez /klu.je/ | clouent /klu/ |
imperfect2 | clouasse /klu.as/ | clouasses /klu.as/ | clouât /klu.a/ | clouassions /klu.a.sjɔ̃/ | clouassiez /klu.a.sje/ | clouassent /klu.as/ | |
(compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | – | – | ||||
simple | — | cloue /klu/ | — | clouons /klu.ɔ̃/ | clouez /klu.e/ | — | |
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:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). |
Derived terms
- cloué au lit
- clouer au pilori
- clouer au sol
- clouer le bec
Related terms
- déclouer
- enclouer
Further reading
- “clouer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- couler, croule, croulé