faiblissiez

Faiblissiez is a coinage used in linguistic discussions to denote a hypothetical French verb form corresponding to the imperfect subjunctive for the second-person plural of the verb faiblir (to weaken). It is not attested in standard French and is primarily employed as a pedagogical or thought-experiment example to illustrate mood and conjugation.

It is formed by taking the stem faibl- and adding the ending -issiez, the second-person plural ending of the imperfect subjunctive in many conjugation patterns: que vous faiblissiez. The construction mirrors other -issiez forms such as finissiez from finir in similar moods.

In usage, faiblissiez appears in hypothetical clauses to discuss potential weakening actions, e.g., "Que vous faiblissiez face à l'opposition" meaning roughly "that you may/should weaken in the face of opposition." The formulation is intentionally atypical to illustrate the interaction of mood, aspect, and subject concord.

Status and reception: as a theoretical device, faiblissiez is discussed in some linguistics primers and language-education materials but remains outside standard reference grammars. Some educators use it to highlight how mood endings attach to stems; others caution against treating it as a real, common French form.

See also: faiblir; imperfect subjunctive; French verb conjugation; hypothetical forms in linguistics.