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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb déguiser

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The English translation of the French verb déguiser is “to disguise.” The infinitive form is pronounced “day-gee-zay.”

Déguiser comes from the Old French word “deguisier,” meaning “to disguise, dress up.” It is derived from the Latin word “disguisare,” which has the same meaning.

In everyday French, déguiser is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is the conditional past tense. This tense is used to talk about actions or events that would have happened in the past if certain conditions had been met.

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

  1. Si j’avais su que c’était un bal costumé, je me serais déguisé en pirate. (If I had known it was a costume party, I would have dressed up as a pirate.)
  2. Nous aurions pu gagner le concours de déguisements si tu t’étais déguisé en clown. (We could have won the costume contest if you had dressed up as a clown.)
  3. Elle m’aurait reconnu si je m’étais déguisée en chat. (She would have recognized me if I had disguised myself as a cat.)

In these examples, déguiser is used to talk about actions that did not happen in the past because certain conditions were not met (not knowing it was a costume party, not dressing up as a clown, not disguising oneself as a cat). The prefix “dé-” in déguiser can also have a sense of undoing or taking something off, which is fitting when talking about undoing a disguise.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais déguisé Si j’avais su, je me serais déguisé. If I had known, I would have disguised myself.
tu aurais déguisé Tu aurais déguisé ta sœur. You would have disguised your sister.
il aurait déguisé Il aurait déguisé son chien. He would have disguised his dog.
elle aurait déguisé Elle aurait déguisé ses enfants. She would have disguised her children.
on aurait déguisé On aurait déguisé la maison. One would have disguised the house.
nous aurions déguisé Nous aurions déguisé les invités. We would have disguised the guests.
vous auriez déguisé Vous auriez déguisé la voiture. You would have disguised the car.
ils auraient déguisé Ils auraient déguisé leur chat. They would have disguised their cat.
elles auraient déguisé Elles auraient déguisé leur chien. They (female) would have disguised their dog.

Other Conjugations for Déguiser.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb déguiser
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Déguiser – 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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