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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décéder

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The English translation of the French verb décéder is “to pass away” or “to die.” It is pronounced as “dey-sey-dey.”

The word décéder comes from the Latin word “decessere” which means “to depart” or “to die.” It is most often used in everyday French in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a past hypothetical action or event.

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

  1. Si j’avais su qu’il allait décéder, je serais allé lui rendre visite. (If I had known he was going to pass away, I would have gone to visit him.)
  2. Il aurait décédé il y a deux ans si le docteur n’avait pas pu le sauver. (He would have died two years ago if the doctor hadn’t been able to save him.)
  3. Nous serions arrivés à temps pour le voir avant qu’il ne décède. (We would have arrived on time to see him before he passed away.)

English translations:

  1. If I had known he was going to pass away, I would have gone to visit him.
  2. He would have died two years ago if the doctor hadn’t been able to save him.
  3. We would have arrived on time to see him before he passed away.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je serais décédé Si je n’avais pas survécu, je serais décédé. If I hadn’t survived, I would have died.
tu serais décédé Tu serais décédé si tu avais été malade. You would have died if you had been sick.
il serait décédé Il serait décédé à l’âge de 75 ans. He would have passed away at the age of 75.
elle serait décédée Elle serait décédée sans son traitement. She would have died without her treatment.
on serait décédé On serait décédé sans cette intervention. One would have died without this intervention.
nous serions décédés Nous serions décédés depuis longtemps. We would have died a long time ago.
vous seriez décédé Vous seriez décédé avant votre retraite. You would have died before your retirement.
ils seraient décédés Ils seraient décédés dans l’accident. They would have died in the accident.
elles seraient décédées Elles seraient décédées en bas âge. They (female) would have died at a young age.

Other Conjugations for Décéder.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décéder
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décéder – 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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