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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décontracter

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The English translation of the French verb décontracter is “to relax” or “to ease tension”. The infinitive form is pronounced as [day-kon-trak-tey].

Décontracter comes from the French prefix “dé-“, which means “undoing” or “removing”, and the verb “contracter”, which means “to contract” or “to tighten”. It is most often used in everyday French to describe the act of relieving tension or stress in one’s body or mind.

In the Conditionnel Passé tense, décontracter is used to express a hypothetical situation in the past. It is formed by using the conditional form of the auxiliary verb “avoir” followed by the past participle of décontracter (décontracté).

Here are three simple examples of décontracter in the Conditionnel Passé tense:

  1. Si j’avais décontracté mes épaules hier, je n’aurais pas mal au cou aujourd’hui. (If I had relaxed my shoulders yesterday, I wouldn’t have a sore neck today.)
  2. Tu aurais dû te décontracter avant l’examen, ça t’aurait aidé à mieux te concentrer. (You should have relaxed before the exam, it would have helped you concentrate better.)
  3. Elle aurait été plus détendue si elle s’était décontractée avant la présentation. (She would have been more relaxed if she had relaxed before the presentation.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décontracté Si j’avais su, je me serais décontracté. I would have relaxed if I had known.
tu aurais décontracté Tu aurais décontracté tes muscles. You would have relaxed your muscles.
il aurait décontracté Il aurait décontracté ses épaules. He would have relaxed his shoulders.
elle aurait décontracté Elle aurait décontracté son visage. She would have relaxed her face.
on aurait décontracté On aurait décontracté après le travail. One would have relaxed after work.
nous aurions décontracté Nous aurions décontracté à la plage. We would have relaxed at the beach.
vous auriez décontracté Vous auriez décontracté dans le spa. You would have relaxed in the spa.
ils auraient décontracté Ils auraient décontracté avant le match. They would have relaxed before the game.
elles auraient décontracté Elles auraient décontracté en regardant un film. They (female) would have relaxed while watching a movie.

Other Conjugations for Décontracter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décontracter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décontracter – 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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