How do you say "search" in French?

Question

I'm writing a poem for French class, and there's a part that I want to say, stop searching.

Would it be
Finissez votre recherche

or

Finissez-vous recherchant.

Another question is what's the difference, between saying "asseyez-vous" and just "asseyez." Does adding the "-vous" make a big difference?

Answer 1

Stop searching = arrêtez de chercher

Finissez votre recherche = Finish (end) your (re)serch

Finissez-vous recherchant doen't make sense in French

asseyez-vous means sit (yourself) down, it's a reflexive verb (s'asseoir)

asseyez means sit someone else down, in this case the verb is a transitive verb (asseoir).
e.g.
asseyez votre bébé sur le canapé = sit your baby (down) on the couch

asseyez vos enfants sur les chaises = sit your kinds on the chairs.

Hope that helps ;)

Answer 2

I am not a native french speaker... only learned the language.

Q1. If you were writing a poem, I would think that it is as though you are trying to communicate with somebody in a personal level, especially if romantically. The right pronoun to use therefore is "Tu" not "Vous".

But if you were writing a poem trying to introduce an idea in general, then the use of "vous" may be correct.

IF IN THE CONTEXT OF: STOP SEARCHING FOR ME... I would do the poem it this sense "Don't search/look for me ...anymore"

= "Ne me cherche pas" .. or "Ne me cherche non plus."

But if you really want the "stop searching" phrase in a general sense, then the literal translation you indicated would be correct.

Q2. About asseyez-vouz and asseyez. The first one can be taken into context of offering somebody a seat. A formal way to say it to a person you just met or a person you respect due to age or rank. Using asseyez without the pronoun vous can be taken to mean as a command. It is used in an imperative mode. You are telling somebody to just sit.

Answer 3

Allright. You say : "Finissez votre recherche" and you say "Asseyez-vous" (be seated). You can't just say "Asseyez", it's not correct, you have to add "-vous". Same thing for "Assieds-toi".

Answer 4

'stop searching' = 'arrêtez votre recherche'
'sit down' = 'asseyez-vous'
('asseyez' alone is ungrammatical)

Answer 5

I think the first choice is better. I'm pretty sure the second choice is not quite grammatical.