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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décrêper

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The English translation of the French verb décrêper is “to untangle” or “to comb out”. It is pronounced as “day-krep-ay”.

Décrêper comes from the combination of the prefix “dé-“, meaning “to undo”, and the word “crêper” which means “to curl”. Therefore, décrêper literally means “to uncurl” or “to detangle”.

In everyday French, décrêper is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is used to express a past conditional action. For example, “I would have untangled” or “I would have combed out”.

Here are three simple examples of décrêper in the Conditionnel Passé tense, with their respective English translations:

  1. J’aurais décrêpé mes cheveux avant la soirée. (I would have untangled my hair before the party.)
  2. Tu aurais décrêpé les fils de laine avant de tricoter. (You would have combed out the wool threads before knitting.)
  3. Ils auraient décrêpé les feuilles du livre pour enlever les plis. (They would have untangled the pages of the book to remove the creases.)

In summary, décrêper is a verb of French origin meaning “to untangle” or “to comb out”. It is most commonly used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to express a past conditional action.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décrépé Si j’avais plus de temps, je t’aurais décrêpé. If I had more time, I would have unknotted your hair.
tu aurais décrépé Tu aurais décrêpé tes cheveux avant la soirée. You would have untangled your hair before the party.
il aurait décrépé Il aurait décrêpé les cordes du bateau. He would have untied the boat ropes.
elle aurait décrépé Elle aurait décrêpé ses cheveux avec un peigne. She would have combed her hair with a comb.
on aurait décrépé On aurait décrêpé la laine pour tricoter. One would have unraveled the wool to knit.
nous aurions décrépé Nous aurions décrêpé les noeuds ensemble. We would have untied the knots together.
vous auriez décrépé Vous auriez décrêpé le fil avec une aiguille. You would have unraveled the thread with a needle.
ils auraient décrépé Ils auraient décrêpé les liens qui les unissent. They would have untangled the ties that bind them.
elles auraient décrépé Elles auraient décrêpé leurs cheveux avant le mariage. They (female) would have unknotted their hair before the wedding.

Other Conjugations for Décrêper.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décrêper
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décrêper – 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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