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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb assigner

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The English translation of the French verb assigner is “to assign” or “to allocate.” It is pronounced as “ah-see-nyay” in the infinitive form.

The verb assigner comes from the Latin word “assignare,” which means “to allot or assign.” In everyday French, it is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is used to express actions that would have occurred in the past if certain conditions had been met.

Three simple examples of its usage in this tense with the respective English translations are:

  1. Si j’avais eu plus de temps, j’aurais pu t’assigner une tâche plus difficile. (If I had had more time, I could have assigned you a more difficult task.)

  2. Nous aurions pu finir le projet plus tôt si tu m’avais assigné plus de ressources. (We could have finished the project earlier if you had allocated more resources to me.)

  3. Si nous avions suivi le plan initial, nous serions en train d’assigner les rôles pour la prochaine étape maintenant. (If we had followed the initial plan, we would be assigning roles for the next stage right now.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais assigné J’aurais assigné la tâche à quelqu’un d’autre. I would have assigned the task to someone else.
tu aurais assigné Tu aurais assigné cette mission à un autre agent. You would have assigned this mission to another agent.
il aurait assigné Il aurait assigné le projet à une autre équipe. He would have assigned the project to another team.
elle aurait assigné Elle aurait assigné le travail à un autre employé. She would have assigned the work to another employee.
on aurait assigné On aurait assigné la responsabilité à quelqu’un d’autre. One would have assigned the responsibility to someone else.
nous aurions assigné Nous aurions assigné les rôles différemment. We would have assigned the roles differently.
vous auriez assigné Vous auriez assigné les tâches à d’autres personnes. You would have assigned the tasks to other people.
ils auraient assigné Ils auraient assigné les dossiers à un autre département. They would have assigned the files to another department.
elles auraient assigné Elles auraient assigné les postes à des candidats différents. They (female) would have assigned the positions to different candidates.

Other Conjugations for Assigner.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb assigner
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Assigner – 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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