Prêtent

Prêtent is the third-person plural present indicative form of prêter, a French verb meaning to lend or to loan out. It is used with subjects ils or elles, so phrases like ils prêtent or elles prêtent mean “they lend” in English. The form appears in sentences describing multiple people lending something to someone.

Conjugation and usage: prêter is a regular -er verb, and its present tense forms follow the standard pattern: je prête, tu prêtes, il/elle prête, nous prêtons, vous prêtez, ils/elles prêtent. The spelling includes diacritical marks: the stem often appears as prêt- with an ê, and the endings attach as with other -er verbs. The form préstent corresponds to ils/elles prête... in the present tense, with pronunciation reflecting the circumflex on ê.

Etymology and scope: the French verb prêter derives from Old French prest(er/ester) and ultimately from Latin praestare, meaning to provide or to stand in place. The present tense form prêtent thus reflects regular French phonology and orthography for -er verbs, including the historical vowel changes indicated by the circumflex.

Usage notes: prêtent should not be confused with the noun prêt (loan) or the adjective prêt, meaning ready. In practice, prêter is used for lending tangible objects, money, or even lending time or services, while emprunter means to borrow. Example: Ils prêtent des outils à leurs voisins. Elle prête de l’argent à son frère. Understanding prêtent requires recognizing it as a verb form, not a standalone noun or adjective.