Définir is a french second group verb. So it follow the regular conjugation pattern of the second group like:
finir. Follow this link to see all the endings of the conjugation of the second group verbs :
conjugation rules and endings for the second group verbs.
Définir is conjugated the same way that verbs that end in :
-ir.
The prototypical verb for the second conjugation is
finir. The conjugation is, marked by the vowel
i and the infix
-iss- in the indicative present and imperfect.
Définir is conjugated to the passive voice. Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many languages. In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb – that is, the person or thing that undergoes the action or has its state changed. This contrasts with active voice, in which the subject has the agent role. For example, in the passive sentence "The tree was pulled down", the subject (the tree) denotes the patient rather than the agent of the action. In contrast, the sentences "Someone pulled down the tree" and "The tree is down" are active sentences.
Exemple in french:
- active voice:
« Le chat mange la souris »
- passive voice:
« La souris est mangée par le chat »
Définir verb is conjugated in female form and in passive voice. Be careful, the past participle must agree with the subject.
Définir is conjugated in interro-negative form. The interro-negative form being obtained by inversion of the subject, the placement of the negative adverb follow the same rules as in negative form, giving the following rules:
- in interro-negative form, the adverb
« ne » is always placed first if the subject is a pronoun.
- in simple tenses, the adverbs (
« ne ...pas »,
« ne...plus »,
« ne...jamais », etc...) surround the verb
définir and the inverted subject pronoun.
- in compound tenses or in passive voice, the negative adverbs surround the auxiliary and the inverted subject pronoun.
For sound reasons, like in interrogative form, an euphonious
« t » is added to the pronoun of the third person:
« il »,
« elle »,
« on »,
« ils »,
« elles » except when the verb ends with
« t » or
« d »:
« ne sera-t-elle pas définie ? »,
« n'a-t-elle pas été définie ? »,
« n'aura-t-elle pas été définie ? ».
Finally, the interrogative form does not exist in subjunctive and imperative.
