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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb distancer

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The English translation for distancer is “to distance” or “to distance oneself.”

The infinitive form of distancer is pronounced “dee-stahn-say” in French.

Distancer originates from the Old French word “distançer” which comes from the Latin word “distantiare” meaning “to stand apart.” In everyday French, distancer is often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to express an action that would have been completed in the past under certain conditions.

Examples:

  1. Si j’avais travaillé plus dur, j’aurais pu distancer mes collègues. (If I had worked harder, I would have been able to distance myself from my colleagues.)
  2. Il m’aurait fallu courir plus vite pour distancer mon adversaire. (I would have had to run faster to distance myself from my opponent.)
  3. Si elle avait suivi mes conseils, elle aurait pu distancer ses concurrents. (If she had followed my advice, she could have distanced herself from her competitors.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je me serais distancé(e) Si j’avais su, je me serais distancé(e) de lui. If I had known, I would have distanced myself from him.
tu te serais distancé(e) Tu te serais distancé(e) du groupe. You would have distanced yourself from the group.
il se serait distancé Il se serait distancé de ses amis. He would have distanced himself from his friends.
elle se serait distancée Elle se serait distancée de sa famille. She would have distanced herself from her family.
on se serait distancé(e) On se serait distancé(e) de ces personnes. One would have distanced themselves from those people.
nous nous serions distancés(es) Nous nous serions distancés(es) de cette situation. We would have distanced ourselves from this situation.
vous vous seriez distancé(e)(s) Vous vous seriez distancé(e)(s) de ces conflits. You would have distanced yourselves from these conflicts.
ils se seraient distancés Ils se seraient distancés des autres. They would have distanced themselves from others.
elles se seraient distancées Elles se seraient distancées des discussions. They (female) would have distanced themselves from the discussions.

Other Conjugations for Distancer.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb distancer
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Distancer – 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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