possédaient vs possèdent, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“possédaient” and “possèdent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,820
“possédaient” frequency rank: #5,486
“possèdent” frequency rank: 26306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	possédaient	possèdent
Definition	Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de posséder.	Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de posséder.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set possédaient and possèdent apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch

possédaient

9 ch

possèdent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. possédaient (\pɔ.se.dɛ\) and possèdent (\pɔ.sɛd\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

possédaient is recorded at frequency rank #20,820, classified as averb, pronounced \pɔ.se.dɛ\. possèdent is at rank #5,486, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɔ.sɛd\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 26306, this pair ranks #335,847 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of possédaient vs possèdent

Shared letters: denopst. Private to "possédaient": aié. Private to "possèdent": è.

"possédaient" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVVCC · "possèdent" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

possédaient#20,820

possèdent#5,486

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "possédaient" and "possèdent" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\pɔ.se.dɛ\ versus \pɔ.sɛd\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "possédaient" or "possèdent"?

"possèdent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,486 in our French list, against #20,820 for "possédaient". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering possédaient vs possèdent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “possédaient” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable