Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Introduction to the verb ergoter
The English translation of the French verb ergoter is to quibble or to nitpick. The infinitive form is pronounced as “er-go-te”.
Ergoter comes from the Old French word “argoter” which means “to haggle” or “to discuss”. It is derived from the Latin word “argutare” meaning “to prattle” or “to chatter”. In everyday French, ergoter is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is used to express a hypothetical past action or situation.
Here are three examples of ergoter in the Conditionnel Passé tense:
- Si tu n’avais pas ergoté sur chaque détail, nous aurions fini plus tôt. (If you hadn’t quibbled about every detail, we would have finished earlier.)
- Il se demandait si elle aurait autant ergoté si c’était lui qui avait fait l’erreur. (He wondered if she would have nitpicked as much if it had been him who made the mistake.)
- Vous vous seriez mieux comportés si vous n’aviez pas ergoté sur les consignes données. (You would have behaved better if you hadn’t nitpicked about the instructions given.)
In these examples, ergoter is used to describe someone’s behavior of constantly arguing or criticizing small details. In the Conditionnel Passé tense, it is used to express what would have happened if the person had not engaged in this behavior.
Table of the Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of ergoter
Pronoun | Conjugation | Example Usage | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | aurais ergoté | Si j’avais su, je n’aurais pas autant ergoté. | If I had known, I wouldn’t have nitpicked so much. |
tu | aurais ergoté | Tu aurais ergoté sans fin. | You would have nitpicked endlessly. |
il | aurait ergoté | Il aurait ergoté sur chaque détail. | He would have nitpicked every detail. |
elle | aurait ergoté | Elle aurait ergoté avec passion. | She would have nitpicked with passion. |
on | aurait ergoté | On aurait ergoté jusqu’au bout de la nuit. | One would have nitpicked all night long. |
nous | aurions ergoté | Nous aurions ergoté sur tout. | We would have nitpicked about everything. |
vous | auriez ergoté | Vous auriez ergoté au moindre détail. | You would have nitpicked at the slightest detail. |
ils | auraient ergoté | Ils auraient ergoté jusqu’à l’aube. | They would have nitpicked until dawn. |
elles | auraient ergoté | Elles auraient ergoté sans arrêt. | They (female) would have nitpicked non-stop. |
Other Conjugations for Ergoter.
Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter (this article)
L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb ergoter
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Ergoter – About the French Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense
Formation
Common Everyday Usage Patterns
Expressing Unreal Past Scenarios
Polite Requests or Suggestions
Expressing Doubt or Uncertainty
Interactions with Other Tenses
Conditional Present
Indicative Past Tenses
Conditional Future
Summary
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