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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décommander

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The English translation of the French verb décommander is “to cancel.” It is pronounced as “day-koh-mahn-day.”

Décommander comes from the combination of the prefix “dé-” which means “undo” or “reverse” and the verb “commander” which means “to command” or “to order.” Therefore, décommander literally means “to un-command” or “to reverse an order.”

In everyday French, décommander is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a hypothetical or unreal action that would have taken place in the past. This tense is formed with the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Conditionnel Présent tense followed by the past participle of the verb, in this case “décommandé.”

Here are three simple examples of décommander used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Si j’avais su que tu étais malade, je t’aurais décommandé. (If I had known you were sick, I would have canceled you.)
  2. Nous aurions décommandé la réservation si nous avions su qu’il y avait une grève. (We would have canceled the reservation if we had known there was a strike.)
  3. Tu aurais dû me prévenir plus tôt, j’aurais décommandé mon voyage. (You should have told me earlier, I would have canceled my trip.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décommandé Si j’avais su, j’aurais décommandé. I would have cancelled if I had known.
tu aurais décommandé Tu aurais décommandé plus tôt. You would have cancelled earlier.
il aurait décommandé Il aurait décommandé son rendez-vous. He would have cancelled his appointment.
elle aurait décommandé Elle aurait décommandé son vol. She would have cancelled her flight.
on aurait décommandé On aurait décommandé la réservation. One would have cancelled the reservation.
nous aurions décommandé Nous aurions décommandé le dîner. We would have cancelled dinner.
vous auriez décommandé Vous auriez décommandé la soirée. You would have cancelled the evening.
ils auraient décommandé Ils auraient décommandé leur voyage. They would have cancelled their trip.
elles auraient décommandé Elles auraient décommandé la réunion. They (female) would have cancelled the meeting.

Other Conjugations for Décommander.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décommander
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décommander – 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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