French

Verb

penser

1. to think

   Je veux être d'accord avec toi, mais je ne pense pas que nous avons besoin de son aide.‎

   I want to agree with you, but I don't think we need his help.

Usage notes

• Penser is commonly construed in one of the following ways:
  • "penser que proposition" — "to think (that) clause". (Note: The que is mandatory.)
    • "Je pense qu'il est parti." — "I think (that) he's left."
    • "Je ne pense pas qu'il soit parti." — "I don't think (that) he's left."
  • "penser à substantif" — "to think about noun".
    • "Je pense à mon frère." — "I'm thinking about my brother."
    • "Je pense à elle." — "I'm thinking about her." (Not *"Je lui pense.")
  • "penser adverbe [especially bien=well, mal=ill] de substantif" — "to think adverb of noun". (Note: in questions, the adverb is represented by que, not by comment as might be expected.)
    • "Je pense très bien de lui." — "I think very well of him."
    • "Qu'est-ce que tu en penses ?" — "What do you think of it?"
  • "penser infinitif" — "to think one will bare infinitive".
    • "Je pense y aller demain." — "I think I'll go there tomorrow."
  • "penser à infinitif" — "to think about gerund".
    • "Je pense à y aller demain." — "I'm thinking about going there tomorrow."

Conjugation

Derived terms

Anagrams

• repens

Latin

Verb

pēnser

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of pēnsō

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French penser, a borrowing from Latin pensāre, present active infinitive of pēnsō.

Verb

penser

1. to think; to reflect
2. to think (have an opinion)

Conjugation

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Norman

Alternative forms

• pensaïr (Guernsey)

Etymology

From Old French penser, a borrowing from Latin pēnsō, pēnsāre ‎(“ponder, consider”). Compare also p'ser, an inherited doublet.

Verb

penser

1. (Jersey) to think
   • 2013 March 1, Geraint Jennings, “Mar martello”, in The Town Crier, page 20:

     Trop d'couques gâtent la soupe sans doute, et ché s'sait mus d'penser coumme tchi agrandi la pâte ou affêtchi la soupe au run d'hèrtchîngni tréjous pouor la manniéthe d'la cop'thie, ou la manniéthe dé couté ou d'dréch'rêsse.‎

     Too many cooks no doubt spoil the broth, and it'd be better to think about how to make the pie bigger or thicken the soup instead of always arguing over how to carry out the cutting or what type of knife or ladle to use.

Old French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin pensāre, present active infinitive of pēnsō. Compare the inherited doublet peser.

Verb

penser

1. to think

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ss, *-st are modified to s, st. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Descendants

• Dutch: peinzen (borrowed)
• Middle French: penser
  • French: penser
• Norman: penser, pensaïr
• Walloon: pinser

Noun

penser m ‎(oblique plural pensers, nominative singular pensers, nominative plural penser)

1. thought

Synonyms

• (thought): pensee (common), pensé, pensement