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

Introduction to the verb commuter

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The English translation of the French verb commuter is “to commute”. It is pronounced kuh-MYOO-tay in the infinitive form.

The word “commuter” comes from the Latin word “commutare”, which means “to change”. In everyday French, it is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses actions that would have happened in the past if a certain condition had been met.

Example 1: Si j’avais su plus tôt, j’aurais pu commuter mon trajet pour éviter les embouteillages.
Translation: If I had known earlier, I could have commuted my journey to avoid the traffic.

Example 2: S’il n’avait pas plu, je serais allé au travail en vélo au lieu de commuter en train.
Translation: If it hadn’t rained, I would have gone to work by bike instead of commuting by train.

Example 3: Elle aurait préféré commuter son vol pour partir plus tôt, mais il n’y avait plus de places disponibles.
Translation: She would have preferred to change her flight to leave earlier, but there were no more seats available.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais commuté Si j’avais des billets, je les aurais commutés. If I had tickets, I would have exchanged them.
tu aurais commuté Tu aurais commuté si tu avais su. You would have commuted if you had known.
il aurait commuté Il aurait commuté en train. He would have commuted by train.
elle aurait commuté Elle aurait commuté pour économiser de l’argent. She would have commuted to save money.
on aurait commuté On aurait commuté pour aller au travail. One would have commuted to go to work.
nous aurions commuté Nous aurions commuté ensemble. We would have commuted together.
vous auriez commuté Vous auriez commuté pour le travail. You would have commuted for work.
ils auraient commuté Ils auraient commuté à vélo. They would have commuted by bike.
elles auraient commuté Elles auraient commuté en voiture. They (female) would have commuted by car.

Other Conjugations for Commuter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commuter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Commuter – 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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