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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb entêter

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The English translation of the French verb entêter is “to stubbornly persist” or “to stubbornly insist”. It is pronounced as “ahn-tet-ay”.

The word entêter comes from the Old French term “en tete”, meaning “in the head”. It is derived from the Latin word “intestari”, which means “to make a will” or “to testify”. In modern French, entêter is often used in everyday speech to describe someone who is stubbornly clinging to their beliefs or opinions, even in the face of opposition or evidence to the contrary.

In the Conditionnel Passé tense, entêter is used to express a past action that would have been stubbornly insisted upon. Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense, with the respective English translations:

  1. Si j’avais su qu’il en était allergique, je ne l’aurais pas entêté à manger des noix. (If I had known he was allergic, I wouldn’t have stubbornly insisted on him eating nuts.)
  2. Nous aurions réussi à le convaincre s’il ne s’était pas entêté dans son refus. (We would have been able to convince him if he hadn’t stubbornly persisted in his refusal.)
  3. Elle aurait pu éviter bien des ennuis si elle n’avait pas entêté à ignorer les avertissements de ses amis. (She could have avoided a lot of trouble if she hadn’t stubbornly persisted in ignoring her friends’ warnings.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je me serais entêté Si j’avais su, je me serais entêté. If I had known, I would have persisted.
tu te serais entêté Tu te serais entêté à faire cela. You would have stubbornly done that.
il se serait entêté Il se serait entêté à m’ignorer. He would have stubbornly ignored me.
elle se serait entêtée Elle se serait entêtée à suivre ses rêves. She would have stubbornly followed her dreams.
on se serait entêté On se serait entêté à aller dans cette direction. One would have stubbornly gone in that direction.
nous nous serions entêtés Nous nous serions entêtés à faire la grève. We would have stubbornly gone on strike.
vous vous seriez entêtés Vous vous seriez entêtés à acheter cette voiture. You would have stubbornly bought that car.
ils se seraient entêtés Ils se seraient entêtés à défendre leur point de vue. They would have stubbornly defended their point of view.
elles se seraient entêtées Elles se seraient entêtées à faire la fête. They (female) would have stubbornly partied.

Other Conjugations for Entêter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb entêter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Entêter – 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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