L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb cafouiller

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The English translation of the French verb cafouiller is “to mess up” or “to bungle.” It is pronounced as “kah-foo-yay.”

The word cafouiller originated from the French word “café,” which means “coffee.” It is believed that the term came from the idea of mixing up or stirring ingredients in a coffee pot, resulting in a messy or confused state.

In everyday French, cafouiller is most often used in the L’infinitif Présent tense, which is the equivalent of the present infinitive tense in English. It is used to describe a situation or action that is messy, chaotic, or confused.

Examples:

  1. Je déteste cuisiner, je cafouille toujours avec les recettes. (I hate cooking, I always mess up with the recipes.)
  2. Ils ont essayé de réparer la voiture eux-mêmes, mais ils ont encore cafouillé. (They tried to fix the car themselves, but they still messed up.)
  3. Arrête de cafouiller et concentre-toi sur ton travail. (Stop bungling and focus on your work.)

In these examples, the verb cafouiller is used to describe a messy or chaotic situation, whether it be in cooking, fixing a car, or completing a task. The English translations accurately convey the meaning of the verb in each sentence.

Table of the L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of cafouiller

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je cafouille Je cafouille souvent. I mix up often.
tu cafouilles Tu cafouilles trop. You mix up too much.
il cafouille Il cafouille toujours. He always mixes up.
elle cafouille Elle cafouille beaucoup. She mixes up a lot.
on cafouille On cafouille ensemble. We mix up together.
nous cafouillons Nous cafouillons en classe. We mix up in class.
vous cafouillez Vous cafouillez ensemble. You mix up together.
ils cafouillent Ils cafouillent souvent. They mix up often.
elles cafouillent Elles cafouillent en cuisine. They mix up in the kitchen.

Other Conjugations for Cafouiller.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller 

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller 

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller 

Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller 

Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller 

Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller 

L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller

L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cafouiller  (this article)

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Cafouiller – About the French L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense

BEFORE you continue…. why not take a deep dive into all the French tenses with my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.
The French “l’infinitif présent” (Infinitive Present) tense is not a true verb tense in the same way that the present, past, or future tenses are. Instead, it’s the base form of a verb, and it has several important uses and interactions with other tenses.

Forming the Infinitive Present

To form the infinitive present of a verb, you typically take the unconjugated form of the verb (the form you’d find in a French dictionary) and remove the ending. For regular verbs, you remove the -er, -ir, or -re ending, and you’re left with the infinitive. For example:
   – Parler (to speak)
   – Finir (to finish)
   – Vendre (to sell)

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

As a Verb’s Dictionary Form

The most common use of the infinitive present is to represent a verb in its base form. It’s the form you would find in a dictionary or verb conjugation table.

After Modal Verbs

When you use modal verbs like “pouvoir” (can), “vouloir” (want), or “devoir” (must), the verb that follows is in its infinitive form. For example:
     – Je veux manger. (I want to eat.)
     – Il peut parler français. (He can speak French.)

As an Imperative

In informal commands, the infinitive is often used. For example:
     – Ferme la porte. (Close the door.)

In Infinitive Clauses

In complex sentences, especially after certain conjunctions, the infinitive is used to express actions that are separate from the main verb. For example:
     – J’ai besoin de manger avant de partir. (I need to eat before leaving.)

Interactions with Other Tenses

Present Tense

The infinitive present can be used with the present tense to express ongoing actions or habitual actions. For example:
     – J’aime manger des croissants. (I like eating croissants.)

Future Tense

When combined with the future tense of “aller,” the infinitive present can express future actions. For example:
     – Je vais manger au restaurant demain. (I am going to eat at the restaurant tomorrow.)

Conditional Tense

The infinitive present is often used with the conditional to express actions that would happen in a hypothetical situation. For example:

     – Il mangerait s’il avait faim. (He would eat if he were hungry.)

Passé Composé

When forming compound tenses like “passé composé,” the auxiliary verb (être or avoir) is conjugated, and the main verb remains in its infinitive form. For example:
     – J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
     – Elle est partie. (She left.)

Imperfect Tense

The infinitive present can be combined with the imperfect tense to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past. For example:
     – Quand j’étais enfant, j’aimais jouer. (When I was a child, I liked to play.)

Subjunctive and Conditional Moods

In some complex sentences, the infinitive can be used with the subjunctive and conditional moods, especially when expressing uncertainty, possibility, or doubt.

Summary

The infinitive present in French serves as the base form of a verb and is used in various contexts, including after modal verbs, in imperative commands, in infinitive clauses, and in combination with other tenses to convey a wide range of meanings and actions. Its flexibility makes it a fundamental part of French grammar.

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