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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb coqueter

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The English translation of the French verb coqueter is “to flirt.” It is pronounced “koh-ke-teh.”

The word coqueter comes from the Latin word “coquere,” which means “to cook” or “to prepare,” and the suffix “-ter,” which is used to form verbs. In the 16th century, the word “coquetier” was used in French to refer to a small, shallow dish used for cooking eggs or other foods. From there, the word evolved to mean “to play with” or “to dally with,” and eventually took on the meaning of “to flirt.”

In everyday French, coqueter is most often used in the infinitive form as a verb to describe someone who is flirting or behaving in a flirtatious manner. It can also be used as a noun, “un coquet” or “une coquette,” to describe someone who is a flirt or who enjoys playing with others’ affection.

Three examples of coqueter in the infinitive form with their English translations are:

  1. Elle adore coqueter avec les garçons de sa classe. (She loves flirting with the boys in her class.)
  2. Il a passé toute la soirée à coqueter avec la serveuse. (He spent the whole evening flirting with the waitress.)
  3. Ils ont arrêté de coqueter lorsque leurs conjoints sont entrés dans la pièce. (They stopped flirting when their spouses entered the room.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je coquète Je coquète avec lui. I flirt with him.
tu coquètes Tu coquètes souvent. You flirt often.
il coquète Il coquète avec elle. He flirts with her.
elle coquète Elle coquète avec moi. She flirts with me.
on coquète On coquète en ligne. We flirt online.
nous coquetons Nous coquetons en secret. We flirt in secret.
vous coquetez Vous coquetez ouvertement. You flirt openly.
ils coquètent Ils coquètent en discutant. They flirt while talking.
elles coquètent Elles coquètent avec leurs amis. They flirt with their friends.

Other Conjugations for Coqueter.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb coqueter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Coqueter – 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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