L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contre-miner

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The English translation of the French verb contre-miner is “to counter-mine.” The infinitive form, contre-miner, is pronounced as “kawn-truh-mee-nay.”

The language origin of contre-miner can be traced back to the Old French word “countreminer,” which is derived from the Latin word “contra” meaning “against” and the French word “miner” meaning “to mine.” It is most often used in everyday French in the L’infinitif Présent tense, which is the basic form of a verb and is used to express a general action.

Three simple examples of its usage in this tense are:

  1. Je vais contre-miner cette attaque. (I am going to counter-mine this attack.)
  2. Il faut contre-miner leurs plans. (We have to counter-mine their plans.)
  3. Nous devons contre-miner leurs progrès. (We must counter-mine their progress.)

In everyday French, contre-miner is commonly used in military and strategic contexts, where it refers to the act of defending against an enemy’s mines or undermining tactics. It can also be used in a figurative sense to refer to countering someone’s plans or actions.

Table of the L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of contre-miner

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je contre-mine Je contre-mine la terre. I undermine the ground.
tu contre-mines Tu contre-mines la route. You undermine the road.
il contre-mine Il contre-mine le bâtiment. He undermines the building.
elle contre-mine Elle contre-mine le pont. She undermines the bridge.
on contre-mine On contre-mine la montagne. We undermine the mountain.
nous contre-minons Nous contre-minons le champ. We undermine the field.
vous contre-minez Vous contre-minez la forêt. You undermine the forest.
ils contre-minent Ils contre-minent la ville. They undermine the city.
elles contre-minent Elles contre-minent la frontière. They undermine the border.

Other Conjugations for Contre-Miner.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner 

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner 

Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner 

Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner 

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

Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner 

L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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

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Contre-Miner – 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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