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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb dénoter

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The English translation of the French verb dénoter is “to denote”. It is pronounced as “deh-not-ay” in the infinitive form.

Dénoter comes from the Old French word “denoter”, which is derived from the Latin word “denotare” meaning “to mark out”. In everyday French, dénoter is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a hypothetical or possible past action.

Three simple examples of dénoter in the Conditionnel Passé tense are:

  1. Si tu avais étudié plus sérieusement, cela aurait dénoté ton intérêt pour l’école. (If you had studied more seriously, it would have denoted your interest in school.)

  2. Il aurait été étonné si tu avais dénoté un manque de confiance en toi. (He would have been surprised if you had denoted a lack of confidence in yourself.)

  3. Nous aurions été en retard si la panne de voiture n’avait pas dénoté. (We would have been late if the car breakdown had not denoted.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais dénoté Si j’avais su, j’aurais dénoté un changement. If I had known, I would have noticed a change.
tu aurais dénoté Tu aurais dénoté un problème. You would have detected a problem.
il aurait dénoté Il aurait dénoté un mensonge. He would have detected a lie.
elle aurait dénoté Elle aurait dénoté une erreur. She would have detected a mistake.
on aurait dénoté On aurait dénoté une tendance. One would have noticed a trend.
nous aurions dénoté Nous aurions dénoté des similitudes. We would have noticed similarities.
vous auriez dénoté Vous auriez dénoté un changement. You would have noticed a change.
ils auraient dénoté Ils auraient dénoté des anomalies. They would have noticed anomalies.
elles auraient dénoté Elles auraient dénoté des différences. They (female) would have noticed differences.

Other Conjugations for Dénoter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb dénoter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Dénoter – 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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