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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb embrayer

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The English translation of the French verb embrayer is “to engage” or “to gear up.” It is pronounced as “ahm-bray-yeh.”

The word embrayer comes from the Latin word imbricare, meaning “to fit into one another.” In everyday French, it is most often used in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is used to express a future event that is dependent on a condition being met.

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

  1. Si tu avais écouté mes conseils, tu n’aurais pas eu à embrayer sur cette voie dangereuse. (If you had listened to my advice, you wouldn’t have had to engage on this dangerous path.)

  2. J’aurais aimé t’aider, mais j’étais déjà embrayé dans un autre projet. (I would have liked to help you, but I was already engaged in another project.)

  3. S’ils avaient gagné la loterie, ils auraient pu embrayer sur leur rêve de voyager à travers le monde. (If they had won the lottery, they could have geared up for their dream of travelling around the world.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais embrayé Si tu le permets, je t’aurais embrayé. If you allow it, I would have engaged you.
tu aurais embrayé Tu aurais embrayé plus tôt. You would have engaged earlier.
il aurait embrayé Il aurait embrayé la voiture. He would have engaged the car.
elle aurait embrayé Elle aurait embrayé à temps. She would have engaged on time.
on aurait embrayé On aurait embrayé pour la deuxième course. One would have engaged for the second race.
nous aurions embrayé Nous aurions embrayé en deuxième. We would have engaged in second gear.
vous auriez embrayé Vous auriez embrayé avec nous. You would have engaged with us.
ils auraient embrayé Ils auraient embrayé pour la même équipe. They would have engaged for the same team.
elles auraient embrayé Elles auraient embrayé en même temps. They (female) would have engaged at the same time.

Other Conjugations for Embrayer.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb embrayer
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Embrayer – 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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