surprendre

Surprendre is a French verb that means to cause surprise in someone, to catch someone off guard, or to discover something unexpected. It can also mean to arrest or to catch someone in the act. In everyday use, the most common construction is surprendre quelqu’un, to surprise someone, or surprendre quelqu’un en train de faire quelque chose, to catch someone in the act.

Etymology: The word comes from Old French surprendre, formed with sur- meaning upon or suddenly and prendre meaning to take. The prefix conveys the sense of seizing or taking hold suddenly.

Conjugation: Surprendre is a regular -re verb with the stem surpren-. Present tense forms are je surprends, tu surprends, il surprend, nous surprenons, vous surprenez, ils surprennent. The past participle is surpris, used with the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (j’ai surpris). Other tenses follow standard -re verb patterns, such as imparfait surprenais, surprenait, surprenions, surpreniez, surprenaient; subjonctif présent surprenne, surprennes, surprenne, surprenions, surpreniez, surprennent; impératif surprends, surprenons, surprenez.

Usage notes: The verb is transitive, requiring a direct object for the core meaning of causing surprise. It can also express the act of catching someone in a gesture or situation, as in surprendre quelqu’un en flagrant délit. Depending on context, surprendre can carry a neutral, positive, or negative nuance, as in “La nouvelle surprend tout le monde” or “J’ai été surpris par son cadeau.”

Related forms: surpris (past participle adjective), surprenant (present participle/adjective).