égrener

French

Etymology

From é- +‎ grain +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.ɡʁə.ne/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

égrener

1. to shell, pod (maize, peas, wheat etc.)

   Synonym: écosser

2. to gin (cotton)
3. to ripple (flax)
4. (reflexive) to drop off the stalk or bunch
5. (figurative) to dish out
6. (figurative) to rattle off, go through (a list), tick away (time)
   • 1973, Claude Simon, Tryptique, Éditions de Minuit, page 12:

     Les sons de la cloche égrenant les quarts, les demies et les heures […]

     The sounds of the clock rattling off the quarters, the halves and the hours […]

   • 2000, Jean-François Parot, L'énigme des Blancs-Manteaux, JC Lattès, published 2012, page 12:

     Il chut de tout son long, égrenant à nouveau un chapelet d’horribles jurons.

     He fell full length, reeling off another string of appalling curses.

   • 2002, “Tous mes vœux”, in La Femme Trombone, performed by Les Rita Mitsouko:

     Je pleure et fête la perte de l’ovule / Cette mort minuscule / Sereine / Qu’égrène / Le fil du temps

     I cry over, and celebrate, a lost ovum / This tiny death / Serene / That grinds away / The course of time

Conjugation

This verb is conjugated like parler, except the -e- /ə/ of the second-to-last syllable becomes -è- /ɛ/ when the next vowel is a silent or schwa -e-, as in the third-person singular present indicative il égrène and the third-person singular future indicative il égrènera.

Conjugation of égrener (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	égrener
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	égrenant /e.ɡʁə.nɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		égrené /e.ɡʁə.ne/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	égrène /e.ɡʁɛn/	égrènes /e.ɡʁɛn/	égrène /e.ɡʁɛn/	égrenons /e.ɡʁə.nɔ̃/	égrenez /e.ɡʁə.ne/	égrènent /e.ɡʁɛn/
	imperfect	égrenais /e.ɡʁə.nɛ/	égrenais /e.ɡʁə.nɛ/	égrenait /e.ɡʁə.nɛ/	égrenions /e.ɡʁə.njɔ̃/	égreniez /e.ɡʁə.nje/	égrenaient /e.ɡʁə.nɛ/
	past historic2	égrenai /e.ɡʁə.ne/	égrenas /e.ɡʁə.na/	égrena /e.ɡʁə.na/	égrenâmes /e.ɡʁə.nam/	égrenâtes /e.ɡʁə.nat/	égrenèrent /e.ɡʁə.nɛʁ/
	future	égrènerai /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁe/	égrèneras /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁa/	égrènera /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁa/	égrènerons /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁɔ̃/	égrènerez /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁe/	égrèneront /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	égrènerais /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁɛ/	égrènerais /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁɛ/	égrènerait /e.ɡʁɛn.ʁɛ/	égrènerions /e.ɡʁɛ.nə.ʁjɔ̃/ or /e.ɡʁe.nə.ʁjɔ̃/	égrèneriez /e.ɡʁɛ.nə.ʁje/ or /e.ɡʁe.nə.ʁje/	égrèneraient /e.ɡʁɛn.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	égrène /e.ɡʁɛn/	égrènes /e.ɡʁɛn/	égrène /e.ɡʁɛn/	égrenions /e.ɡʁə.njɔ̃/	égreniez /e.ɡʁə.nje/	égrènent /e.ɡʁɛn/
	imperfect2	égrenasse /e.ɡʁə.nas/	égrenasses /e.ɡʁə.nas/	égrenât /e.ɡʁə.na/	égrenassions /e.ɡʁə.na.sjɔ̃/	égrenassiez /e.ɡʁə.na.sje/	égrenassent /e.ɡʁə.nas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	égrène /e.ɡʁɛn/	—	égrenons /e.ɡʁə.nɔ̃/	égrenez /e.ɡʁə.ne/	—
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

• égrenage

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• générer