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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décontaminer

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The English translation of the French verb décontaminer is “to decontaminate.” It is pronounced as “day-kon-ta-mee-nay.”

The word décontaminer has its origins in the French prefix “dé-” meaning “to remove” and the word “contaminer” meaning “to contaminate.” Together, they form the verb décontaminer meaning “to remove contamination.”

In everyday French, décontaminer is most often used in the L’infinitif Présent tense, which is the simple present tense for verbs in French. In this tense, the verb is used in its infinitive form without any conjugation, and it is often accompanied by another verb in a sentence.

Here are three simple examples of décontaminer being used in the L’infinitif Présent tense with their English translations:

  1. Je dois décontaminer la cuisine avant de préparer le repas.
    Translation: I have to decontaminate the kitchen before preparing the meal.

  2. Il est important de décontaminer l’eau avant de la boire.
    Translation: It is important to decontaminate the water before drinking it.

  3. Nous allons décontaminer le sol après l’accident chimique.
    Translation: We are going to decontaminate the ground after the chemical accident.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je décontamine Je décontamine la pièce. I decontaminate the room.
tu décontamines Tu décontamines le sol. You decontaminate the floor.
il décontamine Il décontamine l’eau. He decontaminates the water.
elle décontamine Elle décontamine les aliments. She decontaminates the food.
on décontamine On décontamine l’air. We decontaminate the air.
nous décontaminons Nous décontaminons le site. We decontaminate the site.
vous décontaminez Vous décontaminez les vêtements. You decontaminate the clothes.
ils décontaminent Ils décontaminent la région. They decontaminate the region.
elles décontaminent Elles décontaminent la ville. They decontaminate the city.

Other Conjugations for Décontaminer.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décontaminer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Décontaminer – 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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