enfoncer
French
Etymology
From en- + fond + -er.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.se/
Audio (file)
Verb
enfoncer
- (transitive) to push in, to press in, to drive in
- (transitive) to break open, to break down
- 1846, Louis Reybaud, Jérôme Paturot:
- Ouvrez, ou j'enfonce la porte.
- Open up, or I'll break down the door.
-
- (transitive) to defeat, to thrash
- (intransitive) to sink down
- (reflexive, s'enfoncer) to bury oneself; to immerse oneself
Conjugation
This verb is part of a group of -er verbs for which 'c' is softened to a 'ç' before the vowels 'a' and 'o'.
Conjugation of enfoncer (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | enfoncer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | enfonçant /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | enfoncé /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.se/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | enfonce /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | enfonces /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | enfonce /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | enfonçons /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɔ̃/ | enfoncez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.se/ | enfoncent /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ |
| imperfect | enfonçais /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɛ/ | enfonçais /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɛ/ | enfonçait /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɛ/ | enfoncions /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sjɔ̃/ | enfonciez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sje/ | enfonçaient /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | enfonçai /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.se/ | enfonças /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sa/ | enfonça /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sa/ | enfonçâmes /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sam/ | enfonçâtes /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sat/ | enfoncèrent /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɛʁ/ | |
| future | enfoncerai /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁe/ | enfonceras /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁa/ | enfoncera /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁa/ | enfoncerons /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁɔ̃/ | enfoncerez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁe/ | enfonceront /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | enfoncerais /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁɛ/ | enfoncerais /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁɛ/ | enfoncerait /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁɛ/ | enfoncerions /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sə.ʁjɔ̃/ | enfonceriez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sə.ʁje/ | enfonceraient /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sʁɛ/ | |
| (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 | enfonce /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | enfonces /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | enfonce /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | enfoncions /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sjɔ̃/ | enfonciez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sje/ | enfoncent /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ |
| imperfect2 | enfonçasse /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sas/ | enfonçasses /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sas/ | enfonçât /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sa/ | enfonçassions /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sa.sjɔ̃/ | enfonçassiez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sa.sje/ | enfonçassent /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sas/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | enfonce /ɑ̃.fɔ̃s/ | — | enfonçons /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.sɔ̃/ | enfoncez /ɑ̃.fɔ̃.se/ | — | |
| 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
- enfonçage
- enfoncement
- enfoncer des portes ouvertes
- enfoncer le clou
- enfoncer le couteau dans la plaie
- enfoncer une porte ouverte
- enfonçure
Further reading
- “enfoncer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.