Retournent

Retournent is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb retourner. The verb has two primary semantic fields: to go back to a place or to return, and to turn or flip something over. Its etymology traces to re- (again/back) plus tourner (to turn), and it has developed multiple uses in both intransitive and transitive contexts.

In its intransitive sense, retourner conveys returning to a location: Ils retournent au village après la fête. In its transitive sense, it means turning something over or reversing its orientation: Ils retournent la pièce pour inspecter l’autre côté, ou Ils retournent les pages du livre. The form retournent thus governs both senses depending on the object and context.

Grammatical notes: retournent is the present tense ending for third-person plural on -er verbs. The full present indicative paradigm for retourner is: je retourne, tu retournes, il/elle retourne, nous retournons, vous retournez, ils/elles retournent. Other tenses exist, such as passé composé (j’ai retourné), imparfait (je retournais), and futur simple (je retournerai).

Usage considerations: choisir entre retourner et revenir to convey different aspects of movement. Revenir focuses on the act of coming back to a point, whereas retourner emphasizes moving away and then back, or turning something over. The noun retournement (turnaround, reversal) and related phrases are used in contexts ranging from physical actions to figurative reversals in processes or situations.