Today we’ll look at the verb agacer, which means to irritate and to annoy. Agacer comes from acidare in Latin, which means to make sour.
agacer
to irritate, to annoy, to get on your nerves
Pronunciation [agase]
Agacer – to irritate, to annoy
Example sentences
This first example sentence is colloquial and our translation is not word-for-word.
Mais qu’est-ce qu’il m’agace, ce chien!
This dog is really annoying me!
Elle m’agace avec ses questions stupides.
She irritates me with her stupid questions.
This final sentence uses the adjective agaçant (annoying, irritating), which is the present participle of agacer. The word ça can translate to “it” or “that” and can be used to refer back to a previously mentioned topic.
Ils n’arrêtent pas de nous appeler et ça devient agaçant.
They don’t stop calling us and it’s becoming annoying.
Present tense conjugation
Agacer is a regular ER verb with a stem change as that the -c becomes a -ç in the nous form. This verb follows the same conjugation pattern as commencer (to start, to begin).
J’agace I annoy (or irritate)
Tu agaces You annoy (singular, informal)
Il, elle agace He, she annoys
Nous agaçons We annoy
Vous agacez You annoy (plural, formal)
Ils, elles agacent They annoy
Related lesson
Reference
Word of the Day archive | Lessons by David Issokson
