demander

See also: démander

English

Alternative forms

• demaunder (obsolete)

Etymology

demand +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

demander (plural demanders)

1. One who demands

Anagrams

• damneder, mandered, redemand, remanded

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French demander, from Old French demander, from Latin demandāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /də.mɑ̃.de/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

demander

1. (transitive with à) to ask (a person)

   demander autour de soi ― to ask around

   • J’ai demandé à la lune et le soleil ne le sait pas.

     I asked the moon and the sun doesn't know.

     (J'ai demandé à la lune by Indochine)

2. (transitive) to request
3. (reflexive) to wonder

   Elle s’est demandé ce qu’elle devait faire.

   She wondered what she had to do.

Conjugation

Conjugation of demander (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	demander
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	demandant /də.mɑ̃.dɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		demandé /də.mɑ̃.de/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	demande /də.mɑ̃d/	demandes /də.mɑ̃d/	demande /də.mɑ̃d/	demandons /də.mɑ̃.dɔ̃/	demandez /də.mɑ̃.de/	demandent /də.mɑ̃d/
	imperfect	demandais /də.mɑ̃.dɛ/	demandais /də.mɑ̃.dɛ/	demandait /də.mɑ̃.dɛ/	demandions /də.mɑ̃.djɔ̃/	demandiez /də.mɑ̃.dje/	demandaient /də.mɑ̃.dɛ/
	past historic2	demandai /də.mɑ̃.de/	demandas /də.mɑ̃.da/	demanda /də.mɑ̃.da/	demandâmes /də.mɑ̃.dam/	demandâtes /də.mɑ̃.dat/	demandèrent /də.mɑ̃.dɛʁ/
	future	demanderai /də.mɑ̃.dʁe/	demanderas /də.mɑ̃.dʁa/	demandera /də.mɑ̃.dʁa/	demanderons /də.mɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/	demanderez /də.mɑ̃.dʁe/	demanderont /də.mɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/
	conditional	demanderais /də.mɑ̃.dʁɛ/	demanderais /də.mɑ̃.dʁɛ/	demanderait /də.mɑ̃.dʁɛ/	demanderions /də.mɑ̃.də.ʁjɔ̃/	demanderiez /də.mɑ̃.də.ʁje/	demanderaient /də.mɑ̃.dʁɛ/
(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	demande /də.mɑ̃d/	demandes /də.mɑ̃d/	demande /də.mɑ̃d/	demandions /də.mɑ̃.djɔ̃/	demandiez /də.mɑ̃.dje/	demandent /də.mɑ̃d/
	imperfect2	demandasse /də.mɑ̃.das/	demandasses /də.mɑ̃.das/	demandât /də.mɑ̃.da/	demandassions /də.mɑ̃.da.sjɔ̃/	demandassiez /də.mɑ̃.da.sje/	demandassent /də.mɑ̃.das/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	demande /də.mɑ̃d/	—	demandons /də.mɑ̃.dɔ̃/	demandez /də.mɑ̃.de/	—
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: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

• demande
• demander conseil
• demander la lune
• demander la parole
• demander pardon
• demandeur
• partir sans demander son reste
• que demande le peuple

 

Related terms

• commander
• mander

Descendants

• Saint Dominican Creole French: mandé
  • Haitian Creole: mande

See also

• poser

Further reading

• “demander”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Verb

dēmander

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of dēmandō

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French demander.

Verb

demander

1. to ask

Conjugation

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

Conjugation of demander

infinitive	simple	demander
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle1 or gerund2	simple	demandant
	compound	present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle
past participle		demandé
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ie (i’)	tu	il, elle	nous	vous	ilz, elles
(simple tenses)	present	demande	demandes	demande	demandons	demandez	demandent
	imperfect	demandois, demandoys	demandois, demandoys	demandoit, demandoyt	demandions, demandyons	demandiez, demandyez	demandoient, demandoyent
	past historic	demanda	demandas	demanda	demandasmes	demandastes	demanderent
	future	demanderai, demanderay	demanderas	demandera	demanderons	demanderez	demanderont
	conditional	demanderois, demanderoys	demanderois, demanderoys	demanderoit, demanderoyt	demanderions, demanderyons	demanderiez, demanderyez	demanderoient, demanderoyent
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que ie (i’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ilz, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	demande	demandes	demande	demandons	demandez	demandent
	imperfect	demandasse	demandasses	demandast	demandassions	demandassiez	demandassent
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	demande	—	demandons	demandez	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679.
2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180).

Descendants

• French: demander

Old French

Etymology

From Latin demandāre, present active infinitive of demandō.

Verb

demander

1. to ask

Conjugation

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

    Conjugation of demander (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		demander			avoir demandé
gerund		en demandant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		demandant
past participle		demandé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	demant	demandes	demande	demandons	demandez	demandent
	imperfect	demandoie, demandeie, demandoe, demandeve	demandoies, demandeies, demandoes, demandeves	demandoit, demandeit, demandot, demandeve	demandiiens, demandiens	demandiiez, demandiez	demandoient, demandeient, demandoent, demandevent
	preterite	demandai	demandas	demanda	demandames	demandastes	demanderent
	future	demanderai	demanderas	demandera	demanderons	demanderoiz, demandereiz, demanderez	demanderont
	conditional	demanderoie, demandereie	demanderoies, demandereies	demanderoit, demandereit	demanderiiens, demanderiens	demanderiiez, demanderiez	demanderoient, demandereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	demant	demanz	demant	demandons	demandez	demandent
	imperfect	demandasse	demandasses	demandast	demandissons, demandissiens	demandissoiz, demandissez, demandissiez	demandassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	demande	—	demandons	demandez	—

Descendants

• English: to demand
• Middle French: demander
  • French: demander
• Norman: d'màndaïr (Guernsey), d'mander (Jersey)