Décrive

Décrive is a present subjunctive form of the French verb décrire. It is not a standalone verb form in ordinary speech, but appears in clauses that require the subjunctive mood. The form décrive is used for the first-person singular and the third-person singular in the present subjunctive: que je décrive and qu’il décrive. Other present-subjunctive forms of décrire are décrives (tu décrives), décrivions (nous décrivions), décriviez (vous décriviez), and décrivent (ils décrivent).

Etymology and morphology: décrire stems from the Latin describere, and the present-subjunctive form décrive preserves the root décriv- with the standard subjunctive endings. The accent aigu on é is kept in the spelling, yielding décrive rather than other potential spellings.

Usage: The present subjunctive is used after certain verbs and expressions that express doubt, necessity, desire, emotion, or possibility. Examples include: Il faut que je décrive les faits avec précision. Je souhaite que tu décrives ce qui s’est passé. In formal French, these constructions are common; in colloquial speech, the subjunctive may be substituted by the indicative in some regions or registers.

Pronunciation and form: In standard French pronunciation, décrive is pronounced roughly de-kʁiv, with the final e pronounced in writing but often softly realized in speech. The form is identical for the 1st person singular and the 3rd person singular in the present subjunctive, while other persons have distinct endings: décrives, décrivons, décriviez, décrivent.

See also: Décrire; Subjonctif présent; Conjugation patterns for -re verbs.