trouver
French
Etymology
From Old French trover, truver, from Vulgar Latin *tropāre, present active infinitive of *tropō, from Latin tropus; compare English trope.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /tʁu.ve/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -e
Verb
trouver
- (transitive) to find; to retrieve something lost, turn up something hidden, or encounter something previously unknown to one
- Quand est-ce qu'elle a trouvé les clés ?
- When did she find the keys?
- (transitive) to find (something to be the case); to think or consider (something to be so)
- Je vous trouve si jolie. ― I find you so pretty.
- (reflexive, se trouver) to find oneself (at a place or in a situation)
- (reflexive, se trouver) to be found, to be situated, to be
- La boulangerie se trouve en face du cinéma. ― The bakery is [found] opposite the cinema.
- (impersonal, reflexive, se trouver) to be the case, to turn out (that)
- Il se trouve que je passe près de chez vous.
- I happen to be heading past your place.
Conjugation
Conjugation of trouver (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | trouver | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | trouvant /tʁu.vɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | trouvé /tʁu.ve/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | trouve /tʁuv/2 | trouves /tʁuv/ | trouve /tʁuv/ | trouvons /tʁu.vɔ̃/ | trouvez /tʁu.ve/ | trouvent /tʁuv/ |
| imperfect | trouvais /tʁu.vɛ/ | trouvais /tʁu.vɛ/ | trouvait /tʁu.vɛ/ | trouvions /tʁu.vjɔ̃/ | trouviez /tʁu.vje/ | trouvaient /tʁu.vɛ/ | |
| past historic3 | trouvai /tʁu.ve/ | trouvas /tʁu.va/ | trouva /tʁu.va/ | trouvâmes /tʁu.vam/ | trouvâtes /tʁu.vat/ | trouvèrent /tʁu.vɛʁ/ | |
| future | trouverai /tʁu.vʁe/ | trouveras /tʁu.vʁa/ | trouvera /tʁu.vʁa/ | trouverons /tʁu.vʁɔ̃/ | trouverez /tʁu.vʁe/ | trouveront /tʁu.vʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | trouverais /tʁu.vʁɛ/ | trouverais /tʁu.vʁɛ/ | trouverait /tʁu.vʁɛ/ | trouverions /tʁu.və.ʁjɔ̃/ | trouveriez /tʁu.və.ʁje/ | trouveraient /tʁu.vʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior3 | 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 | trouve /tʁuv/2 | trouves /tʁuv/ | trouve /tʁuv/ | trouvions /tʁu.vjɔ̃/ | trouviez /tʁu.vje/ | trouvent /tʁuv/ |
| imperfect3 | trouvasse /tʁu.vas/ | trouvasses /tʁu.vas/ | trouvât /tʁu.va/ | trouvassions /tʁu.va.sjɔ̃/ | trouvassiez /tʁu.va.sje/ | trouvassent /tʁu.vas/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect3 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | trouve /tʁuv/ | — | trouvons /tʁu.vɔ̃/ | trouvez /tʁu.ve/ | — | |
| 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 trouvé when inverted. | |||||||
3 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
- enfant trouvé
- ne pas se trouver sous le sabot d'un cheval
- ne pas se trouver sous les sabots d'un cheval
- objets trouvés (“lost-and-found, lost property office”)
- objet trouvé (“found object (art)”)
- qui cherche trouve
- si ça se trouve
- trouver à redire
- trouver chaussure à son pied
- trouver grâce
- trouver la mort
- trouver porte close
- trouver preneur
- trouver sa voie
- trouver ses marques
- trouver son bonheur
- trouver son compte
- trouver son maître
- trouver visage de bois
Related terms
- trouveur
Further reading
- “trouver”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- rouvert
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French trover, truver, from Vulgar Latin *tropāre, present active infinitive of *tropō, from Latin tropus.
Verb
trouver
- to find
Conjugation
- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of trouver
| infinitive | simple | trouver | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle1 or gerund2 | simple | trouvant | |||||
| compound | present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | trouvé | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ie (i’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | trouve | trouves | trouve | trouvons | trouvez | trouvent |
| imperfect | trouvois, trouvoys | trouvois, trouvoys | trouvoit, trouvoyt | trouvions, trouvyons | trouviez, trouvyez | trouvoient, trouvoyent | |
| past historic | trouva | trouvas | trouva | trouvasmes | trouvastes | trouverent | |
| future | trouverai, trouveray | trouveras | trouvera | trouverons | trouverez | trouveront | |
| conditional | trouverois, trouveroys | trouverois, trouveroys | trouveroit, trouveroyt | trouverions, trouveryons | trouveriez, trouveryez | trouveroient, trouveroyent | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ie (i’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ilz, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | trouve | trouves | trouve | trouvons | trouvez | trouvent |
| imperfect | trouvasse | trouvasses | trouvast | trouvassions | trouvassiez | trouvassent | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | trouve | — | trouvons | trouvez | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679. | |||||||
| 2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180). | |||||||
Descendants
- French: trouver
Norman
Alternative forms
- trouvaïr (Guernsey)
Etymology
From Old French trover, truver, from Vulgar Latin *tropāre, present active infinitive of *tropō, from Latin tropus.
Pronunciation
Audio (Jersey) (file)
Verb
trouver (gerund trouv'thie)
- (Jersey) to find
Conjugation
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Conjugation of the verb « trouver » in Norman| infinitive | trouver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerund | trouvant | ||||||
| auxiliary | aveir1 | ||||||
| past participle | masculine | feminine | |||||
| singular | trouvé | trouvée | |||||
| plural | trouvés | trouvées | |||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||
| indicative | je (j') | tu (t') | il, alle, nos | je (nos) | vos | il, alles | |
| present | troue | troues | troue | trouvoms | trouvez | trouent | |
| imperfect | trouveis | trouveis | trouveit | trouvioms | trouviez | trouveient | |
| preterite | trouvis | trouvis | trouvit | trouvîmes | trouvîtes | trouvîtrent | |
| future | trouverai | trouveras | trouvera | trouveroms | trouverez | trouveront | |
| conditional | trouvereis | trouvereis | trouvereit | trouverioms | trouveriez | trouvereient | |
| subjunctive | que je (j') | que te (t') | qu'il, qu'alle, que nos | que je (que nos) | que vos | qu'il, qu'alles | |
| present | troue | troues | troue | trouvioms | trouviez | trouent | |
| imperfect | trouvisse | trouvisse | trouvît trouvisse | trouvissioms | trouvissiez | trouvissent | |
| imperative | — | tu | — | je (nos) | vos | — | |
| troue | trouvoms | trouvez | |||||
| 1Used with past participles. | |||||||
Antonyms
- cachi (“to hide”)
Picard
Etymology
From Old French trover, truver, from Vulgar Latin *tropāre, present active infinitive of *tropō, from Latin tropus.
Verb
trouver
- to find