fondons

Fondons is a French verb form that can carry two distinct meanings, depending on the verb it derives from. It is the present indicative form for the first-person plural of two verbs: fondre (to melt) and fonder (to found, establish). Because the two verbs have different meanings and etymologies, the sense of fondons is determined by context and the surrounding words.

When fondons comes from fondre, it means “we melt.” This usage appears in cooking, metallurgy, or any situation involving melting or liquefying substances. For example, fondons du chocolat au bain-marie would translate as “we melt the chocolate in a double boiler.” In this sense, fondre belongs to a group of irregular verbs in the present tense, and its forms differ from those of fonder in other persons and tenses.

When fondons comes from fonder, it means “we found” or “we are founding.” This is used in the sense of establishing something, such as an organization, a foundation, or a project. For example, nous fondons une nouvelle association means “we are founding a new association,” or “we are establishing a new organization.” The verb fonder is regular in its conjugation, but the identical present-tense formnous fondons can lead to ambiguity without context.

Etymology: fondre derives from Latin fundere in senses of pouring or melting, while fonder comes from fundare, from fundus meaning base or foundation. These separate origins explain why the same written form can belong to different verbs.

See also: fondre, fonder, French verb conjugation.