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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb besogner

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The English translation of the French verb besogner is “to work hard” or “to toil.” The infinitive form is pronounced “bey-sohn-yey.”

Besogner comes from the Old French word “besoign” which means “need” or “necessity.” It is most often used in everyday French in the Conditionnel Passé (conditional perfect) tense, which is used to express actions that would have happened in the past if certain conditions had been met.

Examples:

  1. Si j’avais gagné à la loterie, j’aurais besogné pour réaliser mes rêves. (If I had won the lottery, I would have worked hard to make my dreams come true.)

  2. Elle m’aurait aidé à besogner pour finir mon projet à temps. (She would have helped me work hard to finish my project on time.)

  3. Nous aurions besogné toute la journée si nous n’avions pas eu ce cours de sport. (We would have worked hard all day if we hadn’t had that gym class.)

English translations:

  1. If I had won the lottery, I would have worked hard to make my dreams come true.
  2. She would have helped me work hard to finish my project on time.
  3. We would have worked hard all day if we hadn’t had that gym class.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais besogné Si j’avais eu plus de temps, j’aurais besogné. If I had more time, I would have worked.
tu aurais besogné Tu aurais besogné plus vite. You would have worked faster.
il aurait besogné Il aurait besogné longtemps. He would have worked for a long time.
elle aurait besogné Elle aurait besogné avec passion. She would have worked with passion.
on aurait besogné On aurait besogné hier. One would have worked yesterday.
nous aurions besogné Nous aurions besogné ensemble. We would have worked together.
vous auriez besogné Vous auriez besogné pour moi. You would have worked for me.
ils auraient besogné Ils auraient besogné toute la nuit. They would have worked all night.
elles auraient besogné Elles auraient besogné pour leur famille. They (female) would have worked for their family.

Other Conjugations for Besogner.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb besogner
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Besogner – 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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