bifurquer
French
Etymology
A verb based on Latin bifurcus (“two-pronged”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bi.fyʁ.ke/
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France (Lyon)): (file) Audio (France (Lyon)): (file) Audio (France (Somain)): (file) - Homophones: bifurquai, bifurqué, bifurquée, bifurquées, bifurqués, bifurquez
Verb
bifurquer
- to bifurcate (split in two)
- (by extension) to change direction (without necessarily splitting)
- 2011, Le Petit Futé, Route de la Soie, page 236:
- Quittant la vallée de Chuy, la route bifurque vers les Kirghiz Alaa-Tau et se faufile comme un serpent entre les pans d'une muraille déchiquetée.
- As it leaves the Chüy Valley, the road turns toward the Kyrgyz Ala-Too mountains, wriggling through like a snake between the remnants of a ruined wall.
Conjugation
Conjugation of bifurquer (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | bifurquer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | bifurquant /bi.fyʁ.kɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | bifurqué /bi.fyʁ.ke/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | bifurque /bi.fyʁk/ |
bifurques /bi.fyʁk/ |
bifurque /bi.fyʁk/ |
bifurquons /bi.fyʁ.kɔ̃/ |
bifurquez /bi.fyʁ.ke/ |
bifurquent /bi.fyʁk/ |
| imperfect | bifurquais /bi.fyʁ.kɛ/ |
bifurquais /bi.fyʁ.kɛ/ |
bifurquait /bi.fyʁ.kɛ/ |
bifurquions /bi.fyʁ.kjɔ̃/ |
bifurquiez /bi.fyʁ.kje/ |
bifurquaient /bi.fyʁ.kɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | bifurquai /bi.fyʁ.ke/ |
bifurquas /bi.fyʁ.ka/ |
bifurqua /bi.fyʁ.ka/ |
bifurquâmes /bi.fyʁ.kam/ |
bifurquâtes /bi.fyʁ.kat/ |
bifurquèrent /bi.fyʁ.kɛʁ/ | |
| future | bifurquerai /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁe/ |
bifurqueras /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁa/ |
bifurquera /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁa/ |
bifurquerons /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁɔ̃/ |
bifurquerez /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁe/ |
bifurqueront /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | bifurquerais /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁɛ/ |
bifurquerais /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁɛ/ |
bifurquerait /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁɛ/ |
bifurquerions /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
bifurqueriez /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁje/ |
bifurqueraient /bi.fyʁ.kə.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | bifurque /bi.fyʁk/ |
bifurques /bi.fyʁk/ |
bifurque /bi.fyʁk/ |
bifurquions /bi.fyʁ.kjɔ̃/ |
bifurquiez /bi.fyʁ.kje/ |
bifurquent /bi.fyʁk/ |
| imperfect2 | bifurquasse /bi.fyʁ.kas/ |
bifurquasses /bi.fyʁ.kas/ |
bifurquât /bi.fyʁ.ka/ |
bifurquassions /bi.fyʁ.ka.sjɔ̃/ |
bifurquassiez /bi.fyʁ.ka.sje/ |
bifurquassent /bi.fyʁ.kas/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | bifurque /bi.fyʁk/ |
— | bifurquons /bi.fyʁ.kɔ̃/ |
bifurquez /bi.fyʁ.ke/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
- bifurqué (adjective)
Further reading
- “bifurquer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012