prépare

Prépare is a form of the French verb préparer, which means to prepare. It commonly appears as the third-person singular present indicative il/elle/on prépare, and as the affirmative imperative for the second-person singular tu, which is written the same way: prépare. In full present tense, it is je prépare, tu prépares, il prépare, nous préparons, vous préparez, ils préparent. The imperative forms are prépare (tu), préparons (nous), préparez (vous). The form can be ambiguous in isolation, so context indicates whether it is a present-tense statement or an instruction.

Étymology and morphology: préparer comes from Old French preapparer, itself from Latin praeparare, formed with prae- meaning before and parare meaning to prepare. The verb is a regular -er verb in French conjugation, which means its stems and endings follow a standard pattern across tenses. The present participle is préparant, and the past participle is préparé; the gerund is en préparant.

Usage: Prépare is used in everyday French to describe the act of making ready or arranging something in advance. It appears in cooking, event planning, travel, and tasks requiring planning. Examples: Il prépare le dîner; Prépare les documents avant la réunion. Beyond literal preparation, the term can also appear in idiomatic expressions related to readiness or gearing up for a future action.

See also: préparer, préparation, préparatoire.