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Verb conjugation

canonner

to cannon, cannonade

Usage

A military and historical verb meaning to bombard or shell with cannon fire — canonner un fort, canonner les positions ennemies. Used almost exclusively in accounts of sieges, naval battles, or older warfare; modern reporting on war favors bombarder.

Examples
  • Les navires ennemis canonnaient le port depuis l'aube.The enemy ships had been shelling the port since dawn.
  • La forteresse fut canonnée pendant des heures avant de se rendre.The fortress was shelled for hours before surrendering.
  • On entendait au loin l'artillerie canonner les positions ennemies.In the distance you could hear the artillery shelling the enemy positions.
Common mistake

Don't confuse canonner (to shell with cannon fire) with the similar-looking canoniser (to canonize a saint) — despite sharing the root canon-, they describe completely unrelated actions.

Simple tenses

Present

jecanonne
tucanonnes
il/ellecanonne
nouscanonnons
vouscanonnez
ils/ellescanonnent

Imperfect

jecanonnais
tucanonnais
il/ellecanonnait
nouscanonnions
vouscanonniez
ils/ellescanonnaient

Past historic (passé simple)

jecanonnai
tucanonnas
il/ellecanonna
nouscanonnâmes
vouscanonnâtes
ils/ellescanonnèrent

Future

jecanonnerai
tucanonneras
il/ellecanonnera
nouscanonnerons
vouscanonnerez
ils/ellescanonneront

Conditional

jecanonnerais
tucanonnerais
il/ellecanonnerait
nouscanonnerions
vouscanonneriez
ils/ellescanonneraient

Subjunctive

jecanonne
tucanonnes
il/ellecanonne
nouscanonnions
vouscanonniez
ils/ellescanonnent

Subjunctive (imperfect)

jecanonnasse
tucanonnasses
il/ellecanonnât
nouscanonnassions
vouscanonnassiez
ils/ellescanonnassent

Imperative

tucanonne
nouscanonnons
vouscanonnez

Compound tenses

Passé composé

jeai canonné
tuas canonné
il/ellea canonné
nousavons canonné
vousavez canonné
ils/ellesont canonné

Plus-que-parfait

jeavais canonné
tuavais canonné
il/elleavait canonné
nousavions canonné
vousaviez canonné
ils/ellesavaient canonné

Passé antérieur

jeeus canonné
tueus canonné
il/elleeut canonné
nouseûmes canonné
vouseûtes canonné
ils/elleseurent canonné

Futur antérieur

jeaurai canonné
tuauras canonné
il/elleaura canonné
nousaurons canonné
vousaurez canonné
ils/ellesauront canonné

Conditionnel passé

jeaurais canonné
tuaurais canonné
il/elleaurait canonné
nousaurions canonné
vousauriez canonné
ils/ellesauraient canonné

Subjonctif passé

jeaie canonné
tuaies canonné
il/elleait canonné
nousayons canonné
vousayez canonné
ils/ellesaient canonné

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait

jeeusse canonné
tueusses canonné
il/elleeût canonné
nouseussions canonné
vouseussiez canonné
ils/elleseussent canonné

Impératif passé

tuaie canonné
nousayons canonné
vousayez canonné

Other

Present participle

canonnant

Past participle

canonné

Infinitive

canonner

Want to practice? Try a conjugation exercise.

Frequently asked questions

What does "canonner" mean?

"canonner" means "to cannon, cannonade".

How do you conjugate "canonner" in the present tense?

The present of "canonner" is: je canonne, tu canonnes, il/elle canonne, nous canonnons, vous canonnez, ils/elles canonnent.

What is the Passé composé of "canonner"?

The passé composé of "canonner" is: je ai canonné, tu as canonné, il/elle a canonné, nous avons canonné, vous avez canonné, ils/elles ont canonné.

What is the Imperative of "canonner"?

The imperative of "canonner" is: tu canonne, nous canonnons, vous canonnez.