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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décaler

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The English translation of the French verb décaler is “to shift” or “to move.” It is pronounced as “dey-kah-leh” in its infinitive form.

Décaler comes from the combination of the prefix “dé-” which means “away” or “out” and the verb “caler” which means “to slot” or “to fit.” Together, décaler can be translated as “to unslot” or “to un-fit,” reflecting the action of shifting or moving something out of its original position.

In everyday French, décaler is often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a hypothetical or unreal action that would have taken place in the past.

  1. Je me serais décalé d’un jour si j’avais su. (I would have shifted my plans by a day if I had known.)

  2. Nous aurions dû décaler notre rendez-vous. (We should have rescheduled our meeting.)

  3. Tu te serais décalé vers la droite pour éviter la collision. (You would have moved to the right to avoid the collision.)

  4. I would have shifted my plans by a day if I had known.

  5. We should have rescheduled our meeting.

  6. You would have moved to the right to avoid the collision.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décalé Si j’avais su, je l’aurais décalé. I would have shifted it.
tu aurais décalé Tu aurais décalé ton rendez-vous. You would have rescheduled your appointment.
il aurait décalé Il aurait décalé l’événement. He would have postponed the event.
elle aurait décalé Elle aurait décalé son vol. She would have changed her flight.
on aurait décalé On aurait décalé le rendez-vous. One would have moved the appointment.
nous aurions décalé Nous aurions décalé notre voyage. We would have delayed our trip.
vous auriez décalé Vous auriez décalé votre réunion. You would have shifted your meeting.
ils auraient décalé Ils auraient décalé l’événement. They would have rescheduled the event.
elles auraient décalé Elles auraient décalé leur départ. They (female) would have postponed their departure.

Other Conjugations for Décaler.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décaler
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décaler – 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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