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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb congratuler

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The English translation of the French verb congratuler is “to congratulate.” The infinitive form, congratuler, is pronounced as “kohn-grah-tew-lay.”

The word congratuler comes from the Latin verb congratulari, which means “to wish joy” or “to rejoice together.” In everyday French, congratuler is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is the conditional past tense.

Three examples of its usage in this tense are:

  1. Si tu avais gagné la course, je t’aurais félicité. (If you had won the race, I would have congratulated you.)
  2. Nous aurions congratulé Pierre pour son mariage s’il avait invité. (We would have congratulated Pierre on his wedding if he had invited us.)
  3. Vous auriez dû les féliciter pour leur succès. (You should have congratulated them on their success.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais félicité Si j’avais su, je t’aurais félicité. I would have congratulated you.
tu aurais félicité Tu aurais félicité ton ami. You would have congratulated your friend.
il aurait félicité Il aurait félicité son équipe. He would have congratulated his team.
elle aurait félicité Elle aurait félicité sa sœur. She would have congratulated her sister.
on aurait félicité On aurait félicité les gagnants. One would have congratulated the winners.
nous aurions félicité Nous aurions félicité en personne. We would have congratulated in person.
vous auriez félicité Vous auriez félicité avec vos amis. You would have congratulated with your friends.
ils auraient félicité Ils auraient félicité les athlètes. They would have congratulated the athletes.
elles auraient félicité Elles auraient félicité les diplômées. They (female) would have congratulated the graduates.

Other Conjugations for Congratuler.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb congratuler
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Congratuler – 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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