Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb affronter

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The English translation of the French verb affronter is “to confront” or “to face”. The infinitive form is pronounced as “ah-fron-tay”.

The word affronter comes from the Latin word “affrontare”, meaning “to confront” or “to challenge”. In everyday French, it is often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a hypothetical or possible action in the past.

Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense, with their English translations:

  1. Si j’avais affronté mes peurs, je serais parti en voyage autour du monde. (If I had confronted my fears, I would have gone on a trip around the world.)

  2. Ils se seraient affrontés si elle n’était pas intervenue pour les calmer. (They would have confronted each other if she had not intervened to calm them down.)

  3. J’aurais affronté mes parents à propos de mon choix de carrière, mais je n’ai pas eu le courage. (I would have confronted my parents about my career choice, but I didn’t have the courage.)

Table of the Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of affronter

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais affronté Si j’avais su, je t’aurais affronté. I would have confronted you.
tu aurais affronté Tu aurais affronté plus tôt. You would have confronted earlier.
il aurait affronté Il aurait affronté son adversaire. He would have confronted his opponent.
elle aurait affronté Elle aurait affronté sa peur. She would have faced her fear.
on aurait affronté On aurait affronté le problème. One would have faced the problem.
nous aurions affronté Nous aurions affronté l’orage. We would have confronted the storm.
vous auriez affronté Vous auriez affronté le danger. You would have faced the danger.
ils auraient affronté Ils auraient affronté le conflit. They would have confronted the conflict.
elles auraient affronté Elles auraient affronté l’échec. They (female) would have faced failure.

Other Conjugations for Affronter.

    

    Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter

    Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter

    Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter

    Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter
     

    Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter  (this article)

    L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affronter


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Affronter – About the French Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense

The French “Conditionnel Passé” is a compound tense used to express hypothetical or unreal actions in the past. It is formed by combining the conditional of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation

Start with the conditional of the auxiliary verb: For most verbs, use “aurais” (for “avoir”) or “serais” (for “être”) as the conditional form. 

With “avoir”: j’aurais, tu aurais, il/elle/on aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez, ils/elles auraient. 
With “être”: je serais, tu serais, il/elle/on serait, nous serions, vous seriez, ils/elles seraient. 

Add the past participle of the main verb to this conditional form. 
For example, if you want to say “I would have done,” you would use “j’aurais fait.” If you want to say “She would have gone,” you would use “elle serait allée.”

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

Expressing Unreal Past Scenarios

The Conditionnel Passé is often used to talk about actions that did not happen in the past, but you are speculating about what would have occurred if they had. It’s a way to discuss hypothetical situations in the past. 

Si j’avais su, je t’aurais aidé. (If I had known, I would have helped you.)
Il serait venu s’il avait eu le temps. (He would have come if he had had the time.) 

Polite Requests or Suggestions

It can be used to make polite requests or suggestions in the past. 

Pourriez-vous m’aider, s’il vous plaît ? (Could you have helped me, please?) 

Expressing Doubt or Uncertainty

It can convey doubt or uncertainty regarding past events.

Il aurait peut-être oublié notre rendez-vous. (He might have forgotten our appointment.)

Interactions with Other Tenses

Conditional Present

You can use the Conditionnel Passé in combination with the conditional present to describe past actions that were hypothetical at the time they were spoken about. J’aurais aimé que tu m’appelles hier. (I would have liked you to call me yesterday.) 

Indicative Past Tenses

You might use the Conditionnel Passé alongside indicative past tenses like the passé composé to contrast hypothetical and real past events. Il est venu hier, mais s’il avait pu, il serait venu la semaine dernière. (He came yesterday, but if he could have, he would have come last week.) 

Conditional Future

In some cases, you can use the Conditionnel Passé in combination with the conditional future to discuss unreal past events that could have consequences in the future. Si j’avais réussi mon examen, j’aurais un meilleur travail. (If I had passed my exam, I would have a better job.)

Summary

In summary, the Conditionnel Passé is used to express hypothetical or unreal actions in the past. It is often used in conjunction with other tenses to convey various nuances in French, allowing speakers to discuss imaginary past scenarios, make polite requests, or express doubt about past events.

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