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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb distancier

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The English translation of the French verb distancier is “to distance” or “to create distance.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “dee-stan-see-eh.”

The word “distancier” comes from the French noun “distance,” which is derived from the Latin word “distans” meaning “distant.” In everyday French, “distancier” is most often used in the L’infinitif Présent tense to express the action of creating or maintaining distance, either literal or figurative, between objects or individuals.

Three simple examples of distancier in L’infinitif Présent tense are:

  1. Je veux distancier mes ennemis. (I want to distance myself from my enemies.)
  2. Les joueurs doivent distancier le ballon pour marquer un but. (The players must distance the ball to score a goal.)
  3. Nous devons apprendre à distancier nos émotions pour prendre de bonnes décisions. (We must learn to distance ourselves from our emotions to make good decisions.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je distance Je distance mes amis. I distance myself from my friends.
tu distances Tu distances ton passé. You distance yourself from your past.
il distance Il distance son équipe. He distances himself from his team.
elle distance Elle distance ses émotions. She distances herself from her emotions.
on distance On se distance trop facilement. We distance ourselves too easily.
nous distance Nous distance nos adversaires. We distance ourselves from our opponents.
vous distancez Vous distancez vos ennemis. You distance yourself from your enemies.
ils distancent Ils distancent leur chef. They distance themselves from their leader.
elles distancent Elles distancent leur famille. They distance themselves from their family.

Other Conjugations for Distancier.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb distancier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Distancier – 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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