Pensait-il (en. He thought)

/pɑ̃sɛ il/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Interrogative form of the past tense of 'think' applied to a third person.

Did he really think what he was saying?

Pensait-il vraiment ce qu'il disait ?

Used to question an idea or belief of an individual in the past.

I wonder what he was thinking at that moment.

Je me demande ce qu'il pensait-il à ce moment-là.

Indicates a presumed thought of an individual in a given context.

Did he think he could have won the competition?

Pensait-il qu'il aurait pu gagner la compétition ?

From the French verb 'penser' in the past, combined with the pronoun 'il'.

was he thinking of something else?

Was he wondering if he could think of something else?

pensait-il à autre chose ?

was he thinking about his future?

Was he reflecting on the possibilities of his future?

pensait-il à son avenir ?

did he really think that?

Was he seriously evaluating that idea?

pensait-il vraiment cela ?

mentality

A state of mind or mental disposition of an individual.

mentalité

think

To have an opinion, a mental representation.

penser

thought

The mental process of reflection.

pensée

For someone hesitant in their ideas.

He was so lost in thought that we started saying he was thinking too much.

Il était tellement dans ses pensées qu'on a commencé à dire qu'il pensait-il trop.

To describe a perplexed person.

She looked like she was thinking of a thousand things at once.

Elle avait l'air de pensait-il à mille choses à la fois.