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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb discounter

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The English translation of the French verb discounter is “to discount.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “dees-kon-ter.”

The word discounter comes from the French word “discount,” which is derived from the Latin word “discountare” meaning “to deduct” or “to count off.” In everyday French, discounter is commonly used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to express a hypothetical past action or situation.

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

  1. Si j’avais su, j’aurais discounté le prix de cette voiture. (If I had known, I would have discounted the price of this car.)
  2. Tu aurais dû discounté ces produits plus tôt. (You should have discounted these products earlier.)
  3. Nous aurions discounté nos billets de train si nous avions su qu’il y aurait une grève. (We would have discounted our train tickets if we had known there would be a strike.)

In these examples, the verb discounter is conjugated in the Conditionnel Passé tense (aurais discounté) to indicate a hypothetical action or situation in the past. The English translations use the conditional perfect tense (“would have discounted”) to express the same idea.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais discounté Si j’avais plus de temps, je t’aurais discounté. If I had more time, I would have given you a discount.
tu aurais discounté Tu aurais discounté le produit. You would have discounted the product.
il aurait discounté Il aurait discounté le prix. He would have discounted the price.
elle aurait discounté Elle aurait discounté le prix pour nous. She would have given us a discount.
on aurait discounté On aurait discounté les articles. We (informal) would have discounted the items.
nous aurions discounté Nous aurions discounté les produits. We would have discounted the products.
vous auriez discounté Vous auriez discounté avec nous. You would have given us a discount.
ils auraient discounté Ils auraient discounté les services. They would have discounted the services.
elles auraient discounté Elles auraient discounté les articles. They (female) would have discounted the items.

Other Conjugations for Discounter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb discounter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Discounter – 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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