remarquions

Remarquions is a French verb form derived from remarquer. It primarily appears in two grammatical functions: as the first-person plural of the imperfect indicative (nous remarquions) and as the first-person plural present subjunctive (que nous remarquions). Because the spelling is identical, the intended mood depends on context.

In the imperfect indicative, remarquions describes a past or ongoing action of noticing during a past time frame: for example, “Pendant la réunion, nous remarquions plusieurs incohérences.” In the present subjunctive, the form occurs in subordinate clauses that require the subjunctive, usually after expressions of necessity, doubt, or wish: for instance, “Il faut que nous remarquions les détails” or “Bien que nous remarquions cela, nous devons agir.” The subjunctive usage is more frequent in formal writing and certain stylistic registers; in everyday speech, the imperfect indicative is more common for past noticing.

Etymology and morphology: the form comes from the verb remarquer, which is built from re- (again, back) and marquer (to mark), ultimately from Latin marcāre. The present-subjunctive and imperfect-indicative forms share the same orthography in this instance, which can require context to disambiguate.

Pronunciation and usage notes: phonologically, remarquions is typically pronounced with a nasal final, roughly [ʁəmaʁkjɔ̃]. In dictionary entries, these two senses are distinguished by mood and tense rather than by spelling alone. Writers should rely on surrounding words (que for subjunctive, situational cues for past reference) to convey the intended meaning.

See also: remarquer; French verb conjugation; subjonctif présent; imparfait.