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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb enligner

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The English translation of the French verb enligner is “to align” or “to line up.” It is pronounced as “ahn-lee-nyeh.”

Enligner comes from the Old French word “alignier,” which is derived from the Latin word “ad lineare,” meaning “to make straight.” It is most often used in everyday French in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is used to express a hypothetical or uncertain action that would have happened in the past.

Three simple examples of enligner in the Conditionnel Passé tense are:

  1. Si j’avais eu plus de temps, j’aurais pu enligner toutes les chaises pour le mariage. (If I had more time, I could have aligned all the chairs for the wedding.)

  2. Il aurait mieux valu enligner les pièces avant de commencer l’assemblage. (It would have been better to align the pieces before starting the assembly.)

  3. Nous aurions dû enligner nos idées avant de présenter notre projet. (We should have aligned our ideas before presenting our project.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais enligné Si j’avais su, je t’aurais enligné. I would have lined you up.
tu aurais enligné Tu aurais enligné les livres. You would have lined up the books.
il aurait enligné Il aurait enligné les chaises. He would have lined up the chairs.
elle aurait enligné Elle aurait enligné les assiettes. She would have lined up the plates.
on aurait enligné On aurait enligné les objets. One would have lined up the objects.
nous aurions enligné Nous aurions enligné les photos. We would have lined up the photos.
vous auriez enligné Vous auriez enligné les valises. You would have lined up the suitcases.
ils auraient enligné Ils auraient enligné les voitures. They would have lined up the cars.
elles auraient enligné Elles auraient enligné les vêtements. They (female) would have lined up the clothes.

Other Conjugations for Enligner.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb enligner
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Enligner – 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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