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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb envier

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The English translation of the French verb envier is “to envy.” The infinitive form of envier is pronounced as ahn-vee-eh.

Envier is derived from the Latin word “invidere,” meaning “to look maliciously upon.” It entered the French language in the 13th century and has since evolved to its current meaning of feeling resentment or jealousy towards someone’s possessions, qualities, or achievements.

In everyday French, envier is used to express feelings of envy or jealousy towards someone or something. Here are three simple examples of its usage in the L’infinitif Présent tense, with their respective English translations:

  1. Je n’aime pas que tu envies mon succès. (I don’t like that you envy my success.)
  2. Il envie toujours la richesse de son voisin. (He always envies his neighbor’s wealth.)
  3. Nous n’avons pas à envier la vie des autres. (We have no reason to envy other people’s lives.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je envie Je n’envie pas ça. I do not envy that.
tu envies Tu envies son succès. You envy his success.
il envie Il envie sa richesse. He envies his wealth.
elle envie Elle envie sa beauté. She envies her beauty.
on envie On envie leur liberté. We envy their freedom.
nous envions Nous envions leur vie. We envy their life.
vous enviez Vous enviez nos vacances. You envy our vacations.
ils envient Ils envient leur succès. They envy their success.
elles envient Elles envient son bonheur. They envy her happiness.

Other Conjugations for Envier.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb envier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Envier – 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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