Invoquant

Invoquant is the present participle of the French verb invoquer, meaning invoking or calling upon. In grammar, it can function as an adjective or as part of a non-finite clause, and it follows the standard formation pattern for present participles in French, by adding the suffix -ant to the verb stem invoqu-.

Etymology-wise, invoquer derives from Latin invocare, “to call upon,” via Old French. The form invoquant is thus the contemporary Romance-language continuative form used to express ongoing or characteristic action related to a noun or to introduce a participial clause.

Usage in French texts varies by function. As an adjective, it can modify a noun: un homme invoquant les dieux (a man invoking the gods). In participial clauses, it can supply circumstantial information about the subject: Le souverain, invoquant les dieux, ordonna la levée des impôts. For a gerund-like sense, the phrase en invoquant les dieux is used to indicate the manner of the action: en invoquant les dieux, il priait.

The non-finite form invoquant contrasts with the finite present forms of invoquer (je invoque, tu invoques, il invoque, nous invoquons, vous invoquez, ils invoquent) and with the past participle invoqué, which forms compound tenses and the passive voice.

See also: invoquer, participe présent, gérondif.