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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb fayoter

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The English translation of the French verb fayoter is “to suck up” or “to brown-nose.” It is pronounced fay-yo-TEH in its infinitive form.

The word fayoter comes from the French word fayot, which means “bean.” In the early 20th century, fayot was slang for a student who sucked up to their teacher in order to get good grades. This eventually evolved into the verb fayoter, which is now generally used to describe someone who excessively flatters or ingratiates themselves to someone in a position of authority.

In everyday French, fayoter is most often used in the L’infinitif Présent tense, which is the form of the verb used to express an action that is currently happening or ongoing. Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense, with their English translations:

  1. Je déteste les élèves qui passent leur temps à fayoter. (I hate students who spend all their time sucking up.)

  2. Arrête de fayoter avec le patron, ça ne te mènera nulle part. (Stop brown-nosing with the boss, it won’t get you anywhere.)

  3. Les politiciens sont connus pour fayoter pour attirer les votes. (Politicians are known to suck up in order to attract votes.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je fayote Je fayote trop. I suck up too much.
tu fayotes Tu fayotes toujours. You always suck up.
il fayote Il fayote discrètement. He sucks up discretely.
elle fayote Elle fayote pour avoir une promotion. She is sucking up for a promotion.
on fayote On fayote pour obtenir des faveurs. We suck up to get favors.
nous fayotons Nous fayotons avec le patron. We suck up with the boss.
vous fayotez Vous fayotez devant le chef. You suck up in front of the boss.
ils fayotent Ils fayotent pour monter en grade. They suck up to climb the ranks.
elles fayotent Elles fayotent pour être populaires. They suck up to be popular.

Other Conjugations for Fayoter.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb fayoter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Fayoter – 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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