distinguons

Distinguons is the present indicative form of the French verb distinguer, used with the subject nous to mean “we distinguish.” It can also function in the hortative sense as “let us distinguish,” a usage common in formal, persuasive, or editorial writing. The sense covers recognizing differences, differentiating between items, or separating concepts for analysis.

Etymology and classification: Distinguer traces to Old French distinguer, which in turn comes from Latin distinguere. The root conveys the idea of setting apart or marking off distinctions between things, processes that are central to inquiry, classification, and argument.

Usage and context: Distinguons appears in both everyday and specialized language, though the hortative sense is more characteristic of written or formal discourse. Typical collocations involve distinguishing between things such as faits et fiction, vraisemblance et possibilité, or causes and effects. In instructional or analytical writing, the form helps introduce a deliberate separation or comparison between two or more concepts.

Grammatical notes: Distinguons is the first-person plural present form, corresponding to “we distinguish.” It can be contrasted with other tenses and moods of distinguer, such as distingo (I distinguish, in some regional usages), distingue (he/she distinguishes), or distinguons (we distinguish in the subjunctive in some contexts). The verb belongs to the regular -er verb conjugation pattern in its present tense, though its stem changes are determined by French phonology and orthography.

See also: distinguer; synonyms such as différencier, discerner; related forms and usages in both descriptive and argumentative French.