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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décaver

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The English translation of the French verb décaver is “to lose all one’s money” or “to go broke”. It is pronounced as “day-kah-vay” in its infinitive form.

Décaver comes from the French word “cave” which means “cellar” or “basement”. In the 17th century, it was used to refer to a gambling den located in a cellar where people would go to gamble and often end up losing all their money. Over time, the word evolved to mean “to lose all one’s money” or “to go broke”.

In everyday French, décaver is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to talk about a hypothetical or possible situation in the past. It is used to express regret or disappointment about a loss of money that could have been avoided.

Here are 3 simple examples of décaver in the Conditionnel Passé tense, with their English translations:

  1. Si tu n’avais pas dépensé tout ton argent en vacances, tu n’aurais pas décavé. (If you hadn’t spent all your money on vacation, you wouldn’t have gone broke.)
  2. S’ils avaient écouté mes conseils, ils ne seraient pas décavés aujourd’hui. (If they had listened to my advice, they wouldn’t have lost all their money today.)
  3. Nous aurions pu acheter une maison, mais nous avons préféré décaver en jouant au casino. (We could have bought a house, but we chose to go broke by playing at the casino.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décavé Si j’avais de l’argent, je l’aurais décavé. If I had money, I would have spent it all.
tu aurais décavé Tu aurais décavé ton salaire en une journée. You would have blown your paycheck in one day.
il aurait décavé Il aurait décavé toute sa fortune au casino. He would have lost all his fortune at the casino.
elle aurait décavé Elle aurait décavé son compte en banque pour les vacances. She would have emptied her bank account for vacation.
on aurait décavé On aurait décavé notre budget pour cette voiture de luxe. We would have gone over budget for this luxury car.
nous aurions décavé Nous aurions décavé notre épargne pour payer les dettes. We would have depleted our savings to pay off debts.
vous auriez décavé Vous auriez décavé tous vos biens pour cette maison. You would have spent all your assets on this house.
ils auraient décavé Ils auraient décavé leur fortune pour cette entreprise risquée. They would have risked their fortune for this business venture.
elles auraient décavé Elles auraient décavé leur argent de poche en une journée. They (female) would have spent their allowance in one day.

Other Conjugations for Décaver.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décaver
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décaver – 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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