ressasser
French
FWOTD – 1 January 2016
Etymology
re- (“again”) + sasser (“to sieve”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁə.sa.se/
Audio (file)
Verb
ressasser
- (dated) to sieve again
- Il faut ressasser la farine. ― You have to sieve the flour again.
- (figuratively) to think constantly about the same things
- Synonym: remâcher
- 1913, Marcel Proust, Swann
- Pendant ce mois où je ressassai comme une mélodie, sans pouvoir m'en rassasier, ces images de Florence, de Venise et de Pise (...) je ne cessai pas de croire qu'elles correspondaient à une réalité indépendante de moi.
- (figuratively) to repeat oneself
- Synonyms: rabâcher, répéter
- 1958, Jean Rogissart, Passantes d’Octobre, Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris
- Par avance, il sait ce qu'il trouvera d'imparfait, de médiocre, de mal, d'immuable, en dépit des conseils, des admonestations ou reproches qu'il prodigue et ressasse à chaque inspection.
Conjugation
Conjugation of ressasser (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | ressasser | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | ressassant /ʁə.sa.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | ressassé /ʁə.sa.se/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | ressasse /ʁə.sas/ | ressasses /ʁə.sas/ | ressasse /ʁə.sas/ | ressassons /ʁə.sa.sɔ̃/ | ressassez /ʁə.sa.se/ | ressassent /ʁə.sas/ |
| imperfect | ressassais /ʁə.sa.sɛ/ | ressassais /ʁə.sa.sɛ/ | ressassait /ʁə.sa.sɛ/ | ressassions /ʁə.sa.sjɔ̃/ | ressassiez /ʁə.sa.sje/ | ressassaient /ʁə.sa.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | ressassai /ʁə.sa.se/ | ressassas /ʁə.sa.sa/ | ressassa /ʁə.sa.sa/ | ressassâmes /ʁə.sa.sam/ | ressassâtes /ʁə.sa.sat/ | ressassèrent /ʁə.sa.sɛʁ/ | |
| future | ressasserai /ʁə.sa.sʁe/ | ressasseras /ʁə.sa.sʁa/ | ressassera /ʁə.sa.sʁa/ | ressasserons /ʁə.sa.sʁɔ̃/ | ressasserez /ʁə.sa.sʁe/ | ressasseront /ʁə.sa.sʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | ressasserais /ʁə.sa.sʁɛ/ | ressasserais /ʁə.sa.sʁɛ/ | ressasserait /ʁə.sa.sʁɛ/ | ressasserions /ʁə.sa.sə.ʁjɔ̃/ | ressasseriez /ʁə.sa.sə.ʁje/ | ressasseraient /ʁə.sa.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 | ressasse /ʁə.sas/ | ressasses /ʁə.sas/ | ressasse /ʁə.sas/ | ressassions /ʁə.sa.sjɔ̃/ | ressassiez /ʁə.sa.sje/ | ressassent /ʁə.sas/ |
| imperfect2 | ressassasse /ʁə.sa.sas/ | ressassasses /ʁə.sa.sas/ | ressassât /ʁə.sa.sa/ | ressassassions /ʁə.sa.sa.sjɔ̃/ | ressassassiez /ʁə.sa.sa.sje/ | ressassassent /ʁə.sa.sas/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | ressasse /ʁə.sas/ | — | ressassons /ʁə.sa.sɔ̃/ | ressassez /ʁə.sa.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
- “ressasser”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- serrasses