Emprisonnons

Emprisonnons is a French verbal form of the verb emprisonner, meaning to imprison. It is the first-person plural present indicative form (nous emprisonnons) and, when used as a mood in the nous form, also serves as an imperative meaning “let us imprison.” In rhetoric and in formal writing, emprisonnons can appear as a collective call to action: Emprisonnons les criminels.

Etymology and morphology: emprisonner is built from the noun prison with the French verb-forming suffix -onner, with the en- prefix assimilated to em- before p. The nous form in the present tense ends in -nons, producing emprisonnons. Other tenses follow regular -er verb patterns: for example, the present subjunctive is emprisonnions (que nous emprisonnions), the imperfect is emprisonnions, and the past tenses use auxiliary verbs (nous avons emprisonné, etc.).

Usage notes: The imperative sense of emprisonnons is largely confined to formal, rhetorical, or historical contexts where a speaker urges collective action. In everyday speech, stating “we imprison” uses the indicative present: nous emprisonnons les suspects, for example, though such a construction is uncommon outside legal or political discourse. The verb carries strong coercive connotations and is typically encountered in discussions of criminal justice, policy, or debates about security.

Examples:

- Emprisonnons les criminels qui menacent la sécurité publique. (Let us imprison the criminals who threaten public safety.)

- Nous emprisonnons les suspects selon la procédure en vigueur. (We imprison the suspects according to the procedure in force.)