-ais

• (France, Quebec) IPA^(key): /ɛ/
• (France, Africa) IPA^(key): /e/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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From Middle French -ois, from conflation of Latin -ēbās and -iēbas — second, third, and fourth conjugation variants of -bās, later generalized to all verbs.

-ais (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. forms the first-person and second-person singular imperfect indicative form of a verb

   Je regardais la télé pendant que tu parlais au téléphone.

   I was watching the telly while you were talking on the phone.

• -ait
• -ions
• -iez
• -aient

Inherited from Old French -eis (feminine form -esche). In some senses from Late Latin, Vulgar Latin -iscus (from Frankish *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (“-ish”), conflated with Ancient Greek -ισκος (-iskos), all ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos), in others from Latin -ēnsis. Akin to -ois.

-ais (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -aise, masculine plural -ais, feminine plural -aises)

2. forms adjectives that denote where something or someone is from

   ‎France (“France”) + ‎-ais → ‎français (“French”)

   ‎Angle(terre) (“England”) + ‎-ais → ‎anglais (“English”)

   ‎Marseille (“Marseille”) + ‎-ais → ‎marseillais (“from Marseille”)

-ais m (noun-forming suffix, invariable, feminine -aise)

1. forms noun demonyms specifying a person, usually male, from a given location

   ‎France (“France”) + ‎-ais → ‎Français (“Frenchman, (male) person from France”)

   ‎Angle(terre) (“England”) + ‎-ais → ‎Anglais (“Englishman, (male) person from England”)

   ‎Portug(al) (“Portugal”) + ‎-ais → ‎Portugais (“Portuguese male”)

   ‎Marseille (“Marseille”) + ‎-ais → ‎Marseillais (“(male) person from Marseille”)

2. forms nouns that specify the name of the language spoken in this place

   ‎France (“France”) + ‎-ais → ‎français (“French”, language)

   ‎Angle(terre) (“England”) + ‎-ais → ‎anglais (“English”, language)

-ais

1. inflection of -as:
   1. vocative/genitive singular
   2. nominative/dative plural

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈajʃ/
• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ajs, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -ajʃ

• -aes (pre-reform spelling)

-ais m pl or f pl (non-lemma form of noun-forming suffix or adjective-forming suffix)

1. plural of -al

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -ades, with the loss of the intervocalic -d-,^[1] from Latin -ātis. Cognate with Galician -ades and Spanish -áis.

• -ades, -aides, -andes (dated, dialectal)
• -aes (pre-reform spelling)

-ais (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. a suffix indicating the second-person plural present indicative of -ar

   ‎amar (“to love”) + ‎-ais → ‎amais (“[you all/formal you] love”)

   ‎cantar (“to sing”) + ‎-ais → ‎cantais (“[you all/formal you] sing”)

• -ades, -aides, -andes (dated, dialectal)
• -aes (pre-reform spelling)

-ais (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. a suffix indicating the second-person plural present subjunctive of -er

   ‎correr (“to run”) + ‎-ais → ‎corrais (“[that] you all run”)

2. a suffix indicating the second-person plural present subjunctive of -ir

   ‎emitir (“to emit”) + ‎-ais → ‎emitais (“[that] you all emit”)

• (first-person singular preterite): (colloquial) -es

• (North Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ai̯s/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛs/, /ɛʃ/, /ɪʃ/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ai̯s/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛs/

-ais

1. verb suffix for the first-person singular preterite

In the literary language, -ais causes i-affection of internal vowels, for example, ‎canu (“to sing”) + ‎-ais → ‎cenais (“I sang”).