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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb enlacer

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The English translation of the French verb enlacer is “to embrace/to hug”. The infinitive form is pronounced “ahn-la-seh”.

The word enlacer comes from the Latin word “inlacinare” which means “to bind with a bandage”. In French, it is most often used in its literal sense, meaning to physically embrace or hug someone, but it can also have a figurative meaning of entwining or joining together.

In everyday French, enlacer is frequently used in the Conditionnel Passé tense to express a hypothetical or unrealized action in the past. Here are three examples:

  1. Si j’avais su qu’il partait, je l’aurais enlacé une dernière fois. (If I had known he was leaving, I would have hugged him one last time.)

  2. Nous aurions enlacé nos mains et nous serions partis ensemble. (We would have held hands and left together.)

  3. Vous auriez enlacé votre amie si vous aviez su qu’elle était triste. (You would have embraced your friend if you had known she was sad.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais enlacé J’aurais enlacé mon amoureux. I would have hugged my lover.
tu aurais enlacé Tu aurais enlacé ta soeur. You would have hugged your sister.
il aurait enlacé Il aurait enlacé son ami. He would have hugged his friend.
elle aurait enlacé Elle aurait enlacé sa meilleure amie. She would have hugged her best friend.
on aurait enlacé On aurait enlacé nos proches. One would have hugged our loved ones.
nous aurions enlacé Nous aurions enlacé nos parents. We would have hugged our parents.
vous auriez enlacé Vous auriez enlacé vos enfants. You would have hugged your children.
ils auraient enlacé Ils auraient enlacé leurs animaux de compagnie. They would have hugged their pets.
elles auraient enlacé Elles auraient enlacé leurs partenaires. They (female) would have hugged their partners.

Other Conjugations for Enlacer.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb enlacer
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Enlacer – 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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