Appréciions

Appréciions is a conjugated form of the French verb apprécier. It is the first-person plural form (nous) in the imparfait de l’indicatif, meaning “we appreciated” or “we used to appreciate.” This tense describes past actions or states that were habitual or ongoing over a period in the past.

Grammatical notes: The form expresses a past, ongoing, or repeated state of appreciation rather than a specific completed event. It is not the present tense (nous apprécions) and it is not the imperfect subjunctive, which would appear as apprécia ssassions in literary contexts. The imparfait is commonly used in narrative and description to set scenes or indicate past attitudes.

Formation and pronunciation: The stem is appréci- and the ending is -ions, yielding appréciions in standard writing. The acute accent on é remains visible in this form: appré- ci- ions. It is pronounced roughly as [ap.ʁe.si.ɔ̃], with the liaison and nasalization typical of the imparfait endings.

Usage context: Appréciions appears in sentences describing past appreciation of people, objects, experiences, or performances. For example: “Nous appréciions la compagnie des hôtes pendant le dîner,” or “Nous appréciions souvent les détails subtils du tableau.” It can also convey a nostalgic or reflective tone when recounting past experiences.

Related forms: The infinitive is apprécier; other simple forms include j’apprécie (present), j’appréciais (first-person singular imperfect), nous apprécions (present), and nous apprécierons (future). The noun derived from the verb is appréciation.

Etymology: The verb apprécier comes from French roots meaning to value or esteem, a refinement of older forms in the French language; appré- retains the sense of valuation that underpins the word appreciated in the past.