faillir
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fa.jiʁ/
Etymology 1
From Middle French faillir, from Old French falir, from Vulgar Latin *fallīre, from Latin fallere, present active infinitive of fallō. See also falloir.
Verb
faillir
- to almost do something
- J'ai failli aller en Allemagne, mais j'ai annulé au dernier moment
- I almost went to Germany, but cancelled at the last minute
- to fail
- Tu as failli à ta mission.
- You failed your mission.
Conjugation
This verb has two conjugations, one is older and irregular, but is in modern usage giving way to a conjugation like that of finir. It is hardly used except in the infinitive, past historic, and the composed tenses. The third-person singular present indicative faut is also found in certain set phrases.
Conjugation of faillir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | faillir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | faillant /fa.jɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | failli /fa.ji/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | faux /fo/ | faux /fo/ | faut /fo/ | faillons /fa.jɔ̃/ | faillez /fa.je/ | faillent /faj/ |
| imperfect | faillais /fa.jɛ/ | faillais /fa.jɛ/ | faillait /fa.jɛ/ | faillions /faj.jɔ̃/ | failliez /faj.je/ | faillaient /fa.jɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillit /fa.ji/ | faillîmes /fa.jim/ | faillîtes /fa.jit/ | faillirent /fa.jiʁ/ | |
| future | faudrai or faillirai /fo.dʁe/ or /fa.ji.ʁe/ | faudras or failliras /fo.dʁa/ or /fa.ji.ʁa/ | faudra or faillira /fo.dʁa/ or /fa.ji.ʁa/ | faudrons or faillirons /fo.dʁɔ̃/ or /fa.ji.ʁɔ̃/ | faudrez or faillirez /fo.dʁe/ or /fa.ji.ʁe/ | faudront or failliront /fo.dʁɔ̃/ or /fa.ji.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | faudrais or faillirais /fo.dʁɛ/ or /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faudrais or faillirais /fo.dʁɛ/ or /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faudrait or faillirait /fo.dʁɛ/ or /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faudrions or faillirions /fo.dʁi.jɔ̃/ or /fa.ji.ʁjɔ̃/ | faudriez or failliriez /fo.dʁi.je/ or /fa.ji.ʁje/ | faudraient or failliraient /fo.dʁɛ/ or /fa.ji.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 | faille /faj/ | failles /faj/ | faille /faj/ | faillions /faj.jɔ̃/ | failliez /faj.je/ | faillent /faj/ |
| imperfect2 | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillisses /fa.jis/ | faillît /fa.ji/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| 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:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
This is a regular verb of the second conjugation, like finir, choisir, and most other verbs with infinitives ending in -ir. One salient feature of this conjugation is the repeated appearance of the infix -iss-.
Conjugation of faillir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | faillir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | faillissant /fa.ji.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | failli /fa.ji/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillit /fa.ji/ | faillissons /fa.ji.sɔ̃/ | faillissez /fa.ji.se/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ |
| imperfect | faillissais /fa.ji.sɛ/ | faillissais /fa.ji.sɛ/ | faillissait /fa.ji.sɛ/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissaient /fa.ji.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillit /fa.ji/ | faillîmes /fa.jim/ | faillîtes /fa.jit/ | faillirent /fa.jiʁ/ | |
| future | faillirai /fa.ji.ʁe/ | failliras /fa.ji.ʁa/ | faillira /fa.ji.ʁa/ | faillirons /fa.ji.ʁɔ̃/ | faillirez /fa.ji.ʁe/ | failliront /fa.ji.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | faillirais /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faillirais /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faillirait /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faillirions /fa.ji.ʁjɔ̃/ | failliriez /fa.ji.ʁje/ | failliraient /fa.ji.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 | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillisses /fa.jis/ | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ |
| imperfect2 | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillisses /fa.jis/ | faillît /fa.ji/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | faillis /fa.ji/ | — | faillissons /fa.ji.sɔ̃/ | faillissez /fa.ji.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). | |||||||
Synonyms
- échouer (2) (more common than faillir)
Derived terms
- faille
- faillissement
Descendants
- → German: fallieren
- → Swedish: fallera
Etymology 2
From faillite.
Verb
faillir
- to go bankrupt
Conjugation
This is a regular verb of the second conjugation, like finir, choisir, and most other verbs with infinitives ending in -ir. One salient feature of this conjugation is the repeated appearance of the infix -iss-.
Conjugation of faillir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | faillir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | faillissant /fa.ji.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | failli /fa.ji/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillit /fa.ji/ | faillissons /fa.ji.sɔ̃/ | faillissez /fa.ji.se/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ |
| imperfect | faillissais /fa.ji.sɛ/ | faillissais /fa.ji.sɛ/ | faillissait /fa.ji.sɛ/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissaient /fa.ji.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillis /fa.ji/ | faillit /fa.ji/ | faillîmes /fa.jim/ | faillîtes /fa.jit/ | faillirent /fa.jiʁ/ | |
| future | faillirai /fa.ji.ʁe/ | failliras /fa.ji.ʁa/ | faillira /fa.ji.ʁa/ | faillirons /fa.ji.ʁɔ̃/ | faillirez /fa.ji.ʁe/ | failliront /fa.ji.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | faillirais /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faillirais /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faillirait /fa.ji.ʁɛ/ | faillirions /fa.ji.ʁjɔ̃/ | failliriez /fa.ji.ʁje/ | failliraient /fa.ji.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 | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillisses /fa.jis/ | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ |
| imperfect2 | faillisse /fa.jis/ | faillisses /fa.jis/ | faillît /fa.ji/ | faillissions /fa.ji.sjɔ̃/ | faillissiez /fa.ji.sje/ | faillissent /fa.jis/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | faillis /fa.ji/ | — | faillissons /fa.ji.sɔ̃/ | faillissez /fa.ji.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). | |||||||
Further reading
- “faillir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French falir, from Vulgar Latin *fallīre, from Latin fallere, present active infinitive of fallō.
Verb
faillir
- to fail
- circa 1369, Jean Froissart, Chroniques:
- quant les lances leur failloient, ils se prendoient aux haches
- when their lances failed them, they took up their axes
- 1595, Michel de Montaigne, Essais, book II, chapter 37:
- Ou, s’il leur plait, ils se servent encore de cet empirement, et en font leurs affaires par cet autre moyen qui ne leur peut jamais faillir
- Or, if they preferred, they still made use of this deterioration, and did their affairs by this other means which could never fail them
-
Descendants
- French: faillir
- → German: fallieren
- → Swedish: fallera
Old French
Verb
faillir
- alternative infinitive of falir
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of faillir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | faillir | avoir fali, failli | |||||
| gerund | en falant, faillant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | falant, faillant | ||||||
| past participle | fali, failli | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | fail | faus | faut | falons, faillons | falez, failliez | falent, faillent |
| imperfect | faloie, faleie, failloie, failleie | faloies, faleies, failloies, failleies | faloit, faleit, failloit, failleit | faliiens, faliens, failliiens, failliens | faliiez, faliez, failliiez, failliez | faloient, faleient, failloient, failleient | |
| preterite | fali, failli | falis, faillis | fali, failli | falimes, faillimes | falistes, faillistes | falirent, faillirent | |
| future | faudrai | faudras | faudra | faudrons | faudroiz, faudreiz, faudrez | faudront | |
| conditional | faudroie, faudreie | faudroies, faudreies | faudroit, faudreit | faudriiens, faudriens | faudriiez, faudriez | faudroient, faudreient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | faille | failles | faille | failliens, faillons | failliez | faillent |
| imperfect | faillise | faillises | faillit | faillisons, faillisiens | faillisoiz, faillisez, faillisiez | faillisent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | fail | — | falons, faillons | falez, failliez | — | ||
Descendants
- faillir