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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb départager

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The English translation of the French verb départager is “to settle a dispute/to decide between/to break a tie”. The infinitive form is pronounced as “day-par-tah-zhay”.

The verb départager comes from the Old French word “departager” which means “to divide, to allocate”. It is derived from the Latin word “departire” which means “to divide, to distribute”.

In everyday French, départager is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to talk about a hypothetical situation in the past, or to express a regret or wish about a past event.

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

  1. Si nous avions écouté tes conseils, nous aurions départagé nos différends plus tôt. (If we had listened to your advice, we would have settled our differences earlier.)
  2. J’aurais aimé être là pour départager le match de football avec mes amis. (I wish I had been there to break the tie in the football match with my friends.)
  3. Si le juge avait pris une décision plus tôt, nous n’aurions pas dû départager cette affaire maintenant. (If the judge had made a decision earlier, we wouldn’t have to settle this case now.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais départagé Si j’avais été là, je t’aurais départagé. If I had been there, I would have settled the disagreement between you.
tu aurais départagé Tu aurais départagé les candidats. You would have determined the winners.
il aurait départagé Il aurait départagé les équipes. He would have decided between the teams.
elle aurait départagé Elle aurait départagé les concurrentes. She would have judged between the competitors.
on aurait départagé On aurait départagé les options. One would have chosen between the options.
nous aurions départagé Nous aurions départagé le match. We would have settled the match.
vous auriez départagé Vous auriez départagé les parties. You would have decided between the parties.
ils auraient départagé Ils auraient départagé les équipes. They would have determined between the teams.
elles auraient départagé Elles auraient départagé les options. They (female) would have chosen between the options.

Other Conjugations for Départager.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb départager
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Départager – 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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