Surveilles

Surveilles is the second-person singular present indicative form of the French verb surveiller, which means to watch, monitor or supervise. It is used when addressing one person informally, as in Tu surveilles les progrès du projet. The full present tense conjugation is: je surveille, tu surveilles, il surveille, nous surveillons, vous surveillez, ils surveillent.

Etymology and meaning: surveiller comes from sur- “over” plus veiller “to watch,” itself from Latin vigilare. The form surveilles reflects the standard French verb-ssion pattern for the second-person singular in the present tense. It conveys ongoing or habitual watching, monitoring or supervision of a person, an object, or a situation.

Usage and contexts: In everyday language, surveiller can refer to watching someone’s behavior, tracking the progress of a task, or supervising a process. In professional or technical contexts, it is common in security, quality control, healthcare, data monitoring, and compliance. The expression surveiller de près means to keep a close eye on something or someone. In written French, the noun surveillance is used for the concept of monitoring as a process, while surveillant or surveillante refers to a person who watches or supervises.

Related terms and variations: The related verb surveiller has evolved from the same root as the noun surveillance and the nouns surveillant/surveillante for the person performing the act of watching. Other related expressions include surveiller quelqu’un ou quelque chose to monitor a person or thing, and suivre as a broader sense of tracking in certain contexts.

Notes: Surveilles, as a verb form, should not be confused with a standalone noun; its usage is defined by the subject and the tense in which it appears.