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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb alimenter

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The English translation of the French verb alimenter is “to feed” or “to supply.” It is pronounced “ah-lee-mon-tay.”

Alimenter comes from the Latin verb “alimentare,” meaning “to nourish” or “to feed.” In everyday French, it is often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to express a hypothetical or future action that would have been completed in the past.

Examples:

  1. Si j’avais gagné à la loterie, j’aurais alimenté mon compte bancaire. (If I had won the lottery, I would have fed my bank account.)

  2. Il aurait mieux valu que tu aies alimenté les poissons avant de partir en vacances. (It would have been better if you had fed the fish before going on vacation.)

  3. Si nous avions eu assez d’argent, nous aurions alimenté tous les sans-abris de la ville. (If we had had enough money, we would have fed all the homeless people in the city.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais alimenté Si j’avais su, j’aurais alimenté le feu. If I had known, I would have fueled the fire.
tu aurais alimenté Tu aurais alimenté le chat. You would have fed the cat.
il aurait alimenté Il aurait alimenté la machine. He would have powered the machine.
elle aurait alimenté Elle aurait alimenté sa famille. She would have fed her family.
on aurait alimenté On aurait alimenté le groupe. One would have nourished the group.
nous aurions alimenté Nous aurions alimenté le restaurant. We would have supplied the restaurant.
vous auriez alimenté Vous auriez alimenté les clients. You would have fed the customers.
ils auraient alimenté Ils auraient alimenté le feu. They would have fueled the fire.
elles auraient alimenté Elles auraient alimenté les animaux. They (female) would have fed the animals.

Other Conjugations for Alimenter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb alimenter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Alimenter – 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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