enfermiez

Enfermiez is a verb form in French. It is the second-person plural imperfect indicative of the verb enfermer, meaning to lock up or confine. In English, it corresponds to “you were locking up” or “you used to lock up.”

Grammatical role and formation. Enfermiez is not a standalone lexical item but a conjugated form. It appears on the stem enferm- with the imperfect endings for -er verbs, specifically the -iez ending used with vous in the imparfait (imperfect). The imperfect forms for this verb follow the pattern: je enfermais, tu enfermais, il/elle enfermait, nous enfermions, vous enfermiez, ils/elles enfermaient. The spelling enfermiez also appears in the present subjunctive form “que vous enfermiez,” though that construction typically occurs within a clause introduced by que.

Usage. As a past-tense form, enfermez is common in narrative and descriptive writing to indicate a continuing or habitual action in the past performed by the subject(s) you plural. Because it is a verb form, its interpretation depends on context and accompanying temporal markers or subordinate clauses.

Examples.

- Quand vous étiez jeune, vous enfermiez souvent les clés dans le coffre.

- Il faut que vous enfermiez cette porte avant de partir. (present subjunctive usage with que)

Etymology. Enfermier derives from en- (into, inside) plus fermer (to close), indicating the action of putting something inside by closing it.

See also. Enfermer, French verb conjugation, Imparfait (French), French verbs in -er.

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