Why isn't "souffrir" conjugated?

Lynne C.C1Kwiziq community member

Why isn't "souffrir" conjugated?

"Parce qu'on voit les gens souffrir"
Asked 6 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

If I may just add :

You cannot say, "la fille en jouant du piano..." only, "la fille qui joue du piano s'appelle Sylvie".

To answer Lynne's original question , the verb 'souffrir' is in the infinitive because of the rule:

When 2 verbs follow each other the second one is in the infinitive.

e.g.

Je vais la voir jouer du piano demain = I am going to see her play the piano tomorrow

J'ai vu la maison brûler I saw the house burn/on fire

Hope this helps!

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Can you provide an example?
William C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Isn't "parce qu'on voit les gens souffrir" the example?
William C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Isn't "parce qu'on voit les gens souffrir" the example?
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Oh, silly me, I must have missed themsecomd line. Sorry. 

The point of this lesson is to demonstrate the use of the infinitive for some continuous form constructions in English. In the example you cite, "voit" is the verb and "souffrir" is the infinitive (sufferING). 

Parce qu'on voit les gens souffrir. -- Because one sees the people suffering. 

-- Chris (not a native speaker). 

William C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
That is what I thought. So instead of "La fille qui joue du piano est mon amie" Could I use "La fille jouer du piano est mon amie"
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

No, that would be incorrect. It isn't that the French infinitive simply corresponds to the English present continuous form. Rather, the French present tense can often times also be translated as present continuous in English.

The girl who plays the piano is my friend. -- La fille qui joue du piano est mon amie.
The girl playing the piano is my friend. -- La fille en jouant du piano est mon amie. (you'd need a gerundive in French)

But to demonstrate it in a simpler sentence:

La fille joue du piano -- The girl plays piano. And also: The girl is playing the piano.

The problem is that in English the gerundive of a verb is identical with the "-ing" form.

The girl playing the piano. -- Here "playing" is the gerundive.
The girl is playing the piano. -- Here "playing" is present continuous tense.

I don't know if that makes it any clearer, though....

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

William C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Yes, it does make it a little clearer. Thanks! Can I ask another question? Is "jouant" ever used by itself without "en"?
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Without the "en", you have yourself a present participle. It is less frequently used than its counterpart in English but it is being used.

Elle est partie, oubliant ses clefs. -- She left, forgetting her keys.
Elle est partie en oubliant ses clefs. -- (sounds silly) She left by/while forgetting her keys.

Most often, the present participle is used as an adjective: charmant, intéressant, courant, stressant, etc.

In this context, it is useful to note the change in meaning between the following pairs of adjectives:

stressant -- stressé: stressing (stressful) -- stressing
intéressant -- intéressé: interesting -- interested

Greetings, -- Chris (not a native speaker).

William C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thanks your your help, the two sentences about keys illustrates the differences. Thanks again! Cheers!
Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
" La fille en jouant du piano est mon amie" sounds odd to me. Are you sure it's possible to say this?
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It sounds pretty stilted to my ears but it would be grammatically correct. You'd never hear it said, though, I believe. 

-- Chris. 

Why isn't "souffrir" conjugated?

"Parce qu'on voit les gens souffrir"

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