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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décrypter

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The English translation of the French verb décrypter is “to decipher” or “to decode.” The infinitive form, décrypter, is pronounced as “day-krip-tay.”

The word décrypter comes from the French prefix “dé,” meaning “to undo,” and the verb “crypter,” meaning “to encrypt.” It is most often used in everyday French to describe the action of interpreting or decoding something that is difficult to understand or has been intentionally made obscure.

In the Conditionnel Passé tense, décrypter is used to express a hypothetical or future action in the past, typically with the auxiliary verb “aurais” (would have) or “aurais dû” (should have). Here are three examples of its usage:

  1. Si j’avais suivi un cours de cryptographie, j’aurais pu décrypter ce message. (If I had taken a course in cryptography, I would have been able to decipher this message.)
  2. Ils auraient dû décrypter les documents avant de les publier. (They should have decoded the documents before publishing them.)
  3. Tu aurais dû me laisser décrypter le code avant d’essayer toi-même. (You should have let me decipher the code before trying it yourself.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais décrypté Si j’avais su, je t’aurais décrypté. I would have deciphered it if I had known.
tu aurais décrypté Tu aurais décrypté le message. You would have deciphered the message.
il aurait décrypté Il aurait décrypté le code. He would have decrypted the code.
elle aurait décrypté Elle aurait décrypté le document. She would have deciphered the document.
on aurait décrypté On aurait décrypté le message. One would have deciphered the message.
nous aurions décrypté Nous aurions décrypté le fichier. We would have deciphered the file.
vous auriez décrypté Vous auriez décrypté le code. You would have decrypted the code.
ils auraient décrypté Ils auraient décrypté le message. They would have deciphered the message.
elles auraient décrypté Elles auraient décrypté le message. They (female) would have deciphered the message.

Other Conjugations for Décrypter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décrypter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Décrypter – 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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