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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb cliver

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The English translation of the French verb cliver is “to split” or “to cleave.” It is pronounced as “klee-vay” in the infinitive form.

Cliver comes from the Old French word “clivir,” which means “to split” or “to divide.” It is derived from the Latin word “clivus,” meaning “slope” or “hill.” In everyday French, cliver is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a hypothetical or unreal action in the past.

Three simple examples of cliver in the Conditionnel Passé tense are:

  1. Si j’avais su, j’aurais clivé le bois moi-même. (If I had known, I would have split the wood myself.)

  2. Elle aurait pu cliver la communauté avec ses paroles blessantes. (She could have divided the community with her hurtful words.)

  3. Nous aurions clivé le gâteau en parts égales si nous avions un couteau. (We would have divided the cake into equal pieces if we had a knife.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais clivé Si j’avais le temps, je t’aurais clivé. If I had the time, I would have split you.
tu aurais clivé Tu aurais clivé le bois plus finement. You would have split the wood more finely.
il aurait clivé Il aurait clivé la pierre en deux. He would have split the stone in two.
elle aurait clivé Elle aurait clivé les branches pour le feu. She would have split the branches for the fire.
on aurait clivé On aurait clivé la viande pour le barbecue. One would have split the meat for the barbecue.
nous aurions clivé Nous aurions clivé le bois ensemble. We would have split the wood together.
vous auriez clivé Vous auriez clivé les bûches avec une hache. You would have split the logs with an axe.
ils auraient clivé Ils auraient clivé le tronc d’arbre en plusieurs morceaux. They would have split the tree trunk into several pieces.
elles auraient clivé Elles auraient clivé le bois pour construire une cabane. They (female) would have split the wood to build a cabin.

Other Conjugations for Cliver.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cliver
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Cliver – 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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