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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb effaroucher

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The English translation of the French verb effaroucher is “to startle”, “to scare” or “to frighten”. The infinitive form is pronounced “eh-fah-roo-shay”.

Effaroucher comes from the Old French word “effocer”, meaning “to chase away” or “to scare away”. It is derived from the Latin word “exfacere” which means “to cause fear”. In everyday French, effaroucher is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which expresses a past action that could have happened but did not.

Examples of effaroucher in the Conditionnel Passé tense:

  1. Si j’avais crié, je les aurais effarouchés. (If I had shouted, I would have scared them away.)
  2. Nous aurions effarouché les chiens en marchant dans la forêt. (We would have startled the dogs by walking in the woods.)
  3. Tu aurais effarouché les oiseaux si tu avais fait du bruit. (You would have frightened the birds if you had made noise.)

English translations:

  1. If I had shouted, I would have scared them away.
  2. We would have startled the dogs by walking in the woods.
  3. You would have frightened the birds if you had made noise.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais effarouché Si j’avais su, je t’aurais effarouché. I would have scared you.
tu aurais effarouché Tu aurais effarouché les animaux. You would have scared the animals.
il aurait effarouché Il aurait effarouché les oiseaux. He would have scared the birds.
elle aurait effarouché Elle aurait effarouché le cheval. She would have scared the horse.
on aurait effarouché On aurait effarouché les enfants. One would have scared the children.
nous aurions effarouché Nous aurions effarouché les voisins. We would have scared the neighbors.
vous auriez effarouché Vous auriez effarouché tout le monde. You would have scared everyone.
ils auraient effarouché Ils auraient effarouché les touristes. They would have scared the tourists.
elles auraient effarouché Elles auraient effarouché les souris. They (female) would have scared the mice.

Other Conjugations for Effaroucher.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb effaroucher
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Effaroucher – 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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