plaire
French
Etymology
From Middle French plaire, from Old French plaire, from plaisir, from Latin placēre. The original infinitive now became a noun, and the infinitive ending was changed to -aire by analogy with the future and conditional forms in plair-. The future stem came from Latin pluperfect stem placuer- (placueram, placuerās, ...); some other verbs also use the pluperfect stem for their future stems (but not in the case of pluperfect forms containing -s- or -x-), for example tenir, tiendrai (if using the infinitive form, it results on expected *tenirai < *tenī́re hábeō), see also Appendix:French verbs#Origins.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /plɛʁ/
audio (file)
Verb
plaire
- (intransitive) (followed by à or preceded by an indirect object) to please (usually translated into English as like with exchange of the subject and object)
- Cet homme me plaît ― I fancy that man (literally, “That man pleases me”)
- Cette robe me plaît ― I like this dress
- (reflexive) to enjoy (oneself)
- Je me suis plu à Paris. ― I liked it in Paris.
Conjugation
plaire and its derived verbs conjugate like taire, except that the third person singular of the present indicative may take a circumflex on the 'i'.
Conjugation of plaire (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | plaire | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | plaisant /plɛ.zɑ̃/ or /ple.zɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | plu /ply/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | plais /plɛ/ | plais /plɛ/ | plaît or plait /plɛ/ | plaisons /plɛ.zɔ̃/ or /ple.zɔ̃/ | plaisez /plɛ.ze/ or /ple.ze/ | plaisent /plɛz/ |
| imperfect | plaisais /plɛ.zɛ/ or /ple.zɛ/ | plaisais /plɛ.zɛ/ or /ple.zɛ/ | plaisait /plɛ.zɛ/ or /ple.zɛ/ | plaisions /plɛ.zjɔ̃/ or /ple.zjɔ̃/ | plaisiez /plɛ.zje/ or /ple.zje/ | plaisaient /plɛ.zɛ/ or /ple.zɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | plus /ply/ | plus /ply/ | plut /ply/ | plûmes /plym/ | plûtes /plyt/ | plurent /plyʁ/ | |
| future | plairai /plɛ.ʁe/ or /ple.ʁe/ | plairas /plɛ.ʁa/ or /ple.ʁa/ | plaira /plɛ.ʁa/ or /ple.ʁa/ | plairons /plɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /ple.ʁɔ̃/ | plairez /plɛ.ʁe/ or /ple.ʁe/ | plairont /plɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /ple.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | plairais /plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ple.ʁɛ/ | plairais /plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ple.ʁɛ/ | plairait /plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ple.ʁɛ/ | plairions /plɛ.ʁjɔ̃/ or /ple.ʁjɔ̃/ | plairiez /plɛ.ʁje/ or /ple.ʁje/ | plairaient /plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /ple.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 | plaise /plɛz/ | plaises /plɛz/ | plaise /plɛz/ | plaisions /plɛ.zjɔ̃/ or /ple.zjɔ̃/ | plaisiez /plɛ.zje/ or /ple.zje/ | plaisent /plɛz/ |
| imperfect2 | plusse /plys/ | plusses /plys/ | plût /ply/ | plussions /ply.sjɔ̃/ | plussiez /ply.sje/ | plussent /plys/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | plais /plɛ/ | — | plaisons /plɛ.zɔ̃/ or /ple.zɔ̃/ | plaisez /plɛ.ze/ or /ple.ze/ | — | |
| 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). | |||||||
plaire and its derived verbs conjugate like taire, except that the third person singular of the present indicative may take a circumflex on the 'i'.
Conjugation of se plaire (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | se plaire | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | s'être + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | se plaisant /sə plɛ.zɑ̃/ or /sə ple.zɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant or étant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | plu /ply/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | me plais /mə plɛ/ | te plais /tə plɛ/ | se plaît or se plait /sə plɛ/ | nous plaisons /nu plɛ.zɔ̃/ or /nu ple.zɔ̃/ | vous plaisez /vu plɛ.ze/ or /vu ple.ze/ | se plaisent /sə plɛz/ |
| imperfect | me plaisais /mə plɛ.zɛ/ or /mə ple.zɛ/ | te plaisais /tə plɛ.zɛ/ or /tə ple.zɛ/ | se plaisait /sə plɛ.zɛ/ or /sə ple.zɛ/ | nous plaisions /nu plɛ.zjɔ̃/ or /nu ple.zjɔ̃/ | vous plaisiez /vu plɛ.zje/ or /vu ple.zje/ | se plaisaient /sə plɛ.zɛ/ or /sə ple.zɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | me plus /mə ply/ | te plus /tə ply/ | se plut /sə ply/ | nous plûmes /nu plym/ | vous plûtes /vu plyt/ | se plurent /sə plyʁ/ | |
| future | me plairai /mə plɛ.ʁe/ or /mə ple.ʁe/ | te plairas /tə plɛ.ʁa/ or /tə ple.ʁa/ | se plaira /sə plɛ.ʁa/ or /sə ple.ʁa/ | nous plairons /nu plɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /nu ple.ʁɔ̃/ | vous plairez /vu plɛ.ʁe/ or /vu ple.ʁe/ | se plairont /sə plɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /sə ple.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | me plairais /mə plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /mə ple.ʁɛ/ | te plairais /tə plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /tə ple.ʁɛ/ | se plairait /sə plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /sə ple.ʁɛ/ | nous plairions /nu plɛ.ʁjɔ̃/ or /nu ple.ʁjɔ̃/ | vous plairiez /vu plɛ.ʁje/ or /vu ple.ʁje/ | se plairaient /sə plɛ.ʁɛ/ or /sə ple.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of s'être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | me plaise /mə plɛz/ | te plaises /tə plɛz/ | se plaise /sə plɛz/ | nous plaisions /nu plɛ.zjɔ̃/ or /nu ple.zjɔ̃/ | vous plaisiez /vu plɛ.zje/ or /vu ple.zje/ | se plaisent /sə plɛz/ |
| imperfect2 | me plusse /mə plys/ | te plusses /tə plys/ | se plût /sə ply/ | nous plussions /nu ply.sjɔ̃/ | vous plussiez /vu ply.sje/ | se plussent /sə plys/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of s'être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | plais-toi /plɛ.twa/ | — | plaisons-nous /plɛ.zɔ̃.nu/ or /ple.zɔ̃.nu/ | plaisez-vous /plɛ.ze.vu/ or /ple.ze.vu/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | — | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | simple imperative of s'être + 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
- à Dieu ne plaise
- plaisance
- plaisir
- s’il te plaît
- s’il vous plaît
Further reading
- “plaire”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- palier, pareil, pilera, pliera, replia
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French plaire.
Verb
plaire
- to please
Descendants
- French: plaire
Occitan
Etymology
From a variant of Old Occitan plazer (probably reformed by analogy from conjugated forms; compare French plaire vs. plaisir, and Catalan plaure vs. plaer), from Latin placeō, placēre (“to please”).
Pronunciation
Audio (Languedocien) (file)
Verb
plaire (Languedoc)
- to please
- Synonym: agradar
Dialectal variants
- plàser (Gascony)
- plàder (Gascony)
- har gai (Gascony)
Antonyms
- desplaire
- desagradar
- desplàser
Related terms
- plaser (“pleasure”)
Further reading
- Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2016, page 500.
Old French
Verb
plaire
- alternative infinitive of plaisir.
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb ends in a palatal stem, so there is an extra i before the e of some endings. 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 plaire (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | plaire | avoir pleü | |||||
| gerund | en plaisant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | plaisant | ||||||
| past participle | pleü | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | plaz, plais | plais | plaist | plaisons | plaisiez | plaisent |
| imperfect | plaisoie, plaiseie | plaisoies, plaiseies | plaisoit, plaiseit | plaisiiens, plaisiens | plaisiiez, plaisiez | plaisoient, plaiseient | |
| preterite | ploi | pleüs | plot | pleümes | pleüstes | plorent | |
| future | plairai | plairas | plaira | plairons | plairoiz, plaireiz, plairez | plairont | |
| conditional | plairoie, plaireie | plairoies, plaireies | plairoit, plaireit | plairiiens, plairiens | plairiiez, plairiez | plairoient, plaireient | |
| 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 | place, plaise | places, plaises | place, plaise | placiens, plaçons, plaisiens, plaisons | placiez, plaisiez | placent, plaisent |
| imperfect | pleüsse | pleüsses | pleüst | pleüssons, pleüssiens | pleüssoiz, pleüssez, pleüssiez | pleüssent | |
| 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 | – | |
| — | plais | — | plaisons | plaisiez | — | ||