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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décérébrer

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The English translation of the French verb décérébrer is “to decerebrate.” It is pronounced as “day-say-reh-bray.”

The language origin of décérébrer comes from the combination of the prefix “dé” meaning “undo” and the word “cerveau” meaning “brain.” Together, they form a word that means to “undo the brain” or “remove the brain.”

In everyday French, décérébrer is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is the conditional past tense. This tense is used to express an action that would have happened in the past if certain conditions had been met. It is often used to speculate about past events or express regrets.

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

  1. Si j’avais été un médecin, j’aurais décérébré le patient pour le soulager de sa douleur. (If I had been a doctor, I would have decerebrated the patient to relieve him from his pain.)

  2. Il aurait décérébré son chien s’il avait su que c’était la seule façon de le sauver. (He would have decerebrated his dog if he had known it was the only way to save him.)

  3. Nous aurions décérébré la marmotte pour découvrir le secret de son hibernation. (We would have decerebrated the groundhog to discover the secret of its hibernation.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décérébré Si j’avais su, je t’aurais décérébré. I would have lobotomized you.
tu aurais décérébré Tu aurais décérébré plus tôt. You would have lobotomized earlier.
il aurait décérébré Il aurait décérébré des animaux. He would have lobotomized animals.
elle aurait décérébré Elle aurait décérébré un patient. She would have lobotomized a patient.
on aurait décérébré On aurait décérébré les détenus. One would have lobotomized prisoners.
nous aurions décérébré Nous aurions décérébré en secret. We would have lobotomized in secret.
vous auriez décérébré Vous auriez décérébré avec précision. You would have lobotomized precisely.
ils auraient décérébré Ils auraient décérébré des cobayes. They would have lobotomized guinea pigs.
elles auraient décérébré Elles auraient décérébré des patients. They (female) would have lobotomized patients.

Other Conjugations for Décérébrer.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décérébrer
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décérébrer – 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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