offrir

Offrir is a French verb meaning to present or give something to someone, or to propose doing something. It is etymologically from the Latin offerre, “to bring before” or “to present,” and shares its root with the English word “offer.” In modern French, offrir is an irregular -ir verb, not part of the regular -er or -ir conjugation patterns.

Conjugation highlights include the present tense: j'offre, tu offres, il offre, nous offrons, vous offrez, ils offrent. The past participle is offert, used with the auxiliary avoir (j'ai offert). In the imperfect: j'offrais, tu offrais, il offrait, nous offrions, vous offriez, ils offraient. The future and conditional forms are j'offrirai / j'offrirais, etc. The imperative is offre, offrons, offrez. The subjunctive present appears as que j'offre, que tu offres, qu'il offre, que nous offrions, que vous offriez, qu'ils offrent. The infinitive is offrir, with the past infinitive and other compound tenses formed with avoir: avoir offert.

Usage notes include the common construction offrir quelque chose à quelqu'un (to offer something to someone) and offrir de faire quelque chose (to offer to do something). Offrir is often used for gestures, gifts, services, or proposals, and can convey generosity or a proposal rather than mere transfer of possession, as opposed to donner in some contexts. The pronominal form s'offrir means to allow oneself something or to present oneself as an option, as in s'offrir un moment de repos or s'offrir un café.

As a noun, l'offre means “the offer” or “an offer,” a related but separate word frequently used in commerce or negotiations.