Étirait

Étirait is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the French verb étirer. Étirer means to stretch, lengthen, or draw out, whether physically (stretching a muscle or fabric) or figuratively (extending a deadline, prolonging a period).

In the imperfect, the stem is étir- and the ending for the third person singular is -ait, giving étirait. This tense describes an ongoing action in the past or a habitual action: Il étirait les bras après le réveil; La corde s'étirait sous la tension.

Note the distinction with the conditional form étirerait, which adds the -er- before the ending and means “he would stretch.” For example, Il étirerait les limites si nécessaire. The two forms are not interchangeable, as étirait refers to a past ongoing action, while étirerait denotes a hypothetical or future-influenced action.

Common usages of étirer include both concrete and abstract senses: étirer le bras, étirer la pâte, étirer les délais, ou étirer une période pour gagner du temps. The verb belongs to the first-conjugation -er verbs, with the usual stem étir- and regular -er endings in all simple tenses.