Kilo Lingo

/kɔ̃.batʁ/

Line drawing of combattre
Coloured illustration of combattre
#1593 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

to fight, to combat

Word origin

From Late Latin combattuere, from com- ('with, together') and battuere ('to beat, to strike'). English 'combat', 'battle' and 'batter' come from the same Latin verb.

Origin
Latin
Root
combattuere
English cognates
combat, battle, batter

Grammar

Verb type-re irregular (3rd group, conjugated like battre)

Conjugation

Regular french-irregular conjugation. Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.

Indicative

Person PresentImperfectPast historicFutureConditional
jecombatscombattaiscombattiscombattraicombattrais
tucombatscombattaiscombattiscombattrascombattrais
il/ellecombatcombattaitcombattitcombattracombattrait
nouscombattonscombattionscombattîmescombattronscombattrions
vouscombattezcombattiezcombattîtescombattrezcombattriez
ils/ellescombattentcombattaientcombattirentcombattrontcombattraient

Subjunctive

Person PresentImperfect
jecombattecombattisse
tucombattescombattisses
il/ellecombattecombattît
nouscombattionscombattissions
vouscombattiezcombattissiez
ils/ellescombattentcombattissent

Imperative

Person Affirmative
tucombats
nouscombattons
vouscombattez

Non-finite

Gerund / present participle
combattant
Past participle
combattu · combattue · combattus · combattues

Examples

combattu tranchées.

They fought for four years in the trenches.

racisme apparaît.

Racism must be fought wherever it appears.

' .

This medicine fights the fever in under an hour.

combattons , .

We are fighting for the same ideas, you and I.

combattit 'au .

The knight fought the dragon until daybreak.

Where this fits

Used in

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

French · Free printables

combattre: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "combattre" (to fight, to combat): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 32.