Tirer

Tirer is a French verb with a broad range of meanings centered on the idea of pulling, drawing, or extracting. It also covers shooting with a firearm, drawing conclusions or advantages, and other figurative or physical acts. It is a regular -er verb in its conjugation.

Conjugation and forms are straightforward for learners of French. In the present tense: je tires, tu tires, il tire, nous tirons, vous tirez, ils tirent. The passé composé uses avoir: j'ai tiré. Other tenses include imperfect (je tirais), future (je tirerai), conditional (je tirerais), and the subjunctive (que je tire). The imperative forms are tire, tirons, tirez.

Senses and usage. To pull or haul properties: tirer une porte (to pull a door), tirer quelque chose vers soi (to pull something toward oneself). To draw or extract from a source: tirer des informations de quelqu'un, tirer des conclusions (to draw conclusions). To obtain or profit: tirer profit de quelque chose, tirer parti de une situation (to take advantage of a situation). To shoot with a firearm: tirer sur quelqu'un (to shoot at someone), tirer un coup de feu (to fire a shot); in sport, on peut aussi dire tirer à la cible (to shoot at a target). To draw a card or lots: tirer une carte, tirer au sort (to draw lots). Related expressions include tirer son épingle du jeu (to manage to get by), tirer une leçon de une expérience (to draw a lesson from an experience), and tirer le meilleur de soi-même.

Etymology and note. The verb originates from Old French tirer, related to the idea of pulling or drawing; it is cognate with related forms in other Romance languages and with the English noun tire or verb to pull. In usage, context and prepositions (sur, de, à, pour) help distinguish the senses.