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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb encourager

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The English translation of the French verb encourager is “to encourage.” It is pronounced as ahn-coo-rah-zhay in its infinitive form.

The word encourager comes from the Old French word “encoragier,” which is derived from the Latin word “in” meaning “in” and “cor” meaning “heart.” It has the same origin as the English word “courage.” In everyday French, encourager is typically used to describe the act of giving support, motivation, or confidence to someone.

In the Conditionnel Passé tense, encourager is used to express the idea of “would have encouraged” or “would have given support.” Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense:

  1. Si j’avais su que tu étais nerveux, je t’aurais encouragé avant de passer ton examen. (If I had known you were nervous, I would have encouraged you before taking your exam.)
  2. Elle aurait continué à danser si son professeur l’avait encouragée. (She would have kept dancing if her teacher had encouraged her.)
  3. Nous aurions gagné le match si notre coach nous avait encouragés. (We would have won the game if our coach had encouraged us.)

English translations:

  1. If I had known you were nervous, I would have encouraged you before taking your exam.
  2. She would have kept dancing if her teacher had encouraged her.
  3. We would have won the game if our coach had encouraged us.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais encouragé Si j’avais su, je t’aurais encouragé. I would have encouraged you.
tu aurais encouragé Tu aurais encouragé ton frère. You would have encouraged your brother.
il aurait encouragé Il aurait encouragé l’équipe. He would have encouraged the team.
elle aurait encouragé Elle aurait encouragé ses amis. She would have encouraged her friends.
on aurait encouragé On aurait encouragé le projet. One would have encouraged the project.
nous aurions encouragé Nous aurions encouragé nos enfants. We would have encouraged our children.
vous auriez encouragé Vous auriez encouragé les étudiants. You would have encouraged the students.
ils auraient encouragé Ils auraient encouragé leurs collègues. They would have encouraged their colleagues.
elles auraient encouragé Elles auraient encouragé leurs camarades. They (female) would have encouraged their classmates.

Other Conjugations for Encourager.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb encourager
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Encourager – 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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