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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb feuilleter

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The English translation of the French verb feuilleter is “to leaf through” or “to flip through.” It is pronounced as “feu-yet-ay.”

Feuilleter comes from the French word “feuille,” meaning “leaf,” and the suffix “-et,” which typically indicates a diminutive or small size. It is commonly used in everyday French to describe the action of looking through a book or magazine, usually quickly and without reading every page.

In the Conditionnel Passé tense, feuilleter is used to talk about actions that “would have” happened in the past, usually as part of a hypothetical or imaginary situation. Here are three simple examples of its usage:

  1. Si j’avais eu plus de temps, j’aurais feuilleté ce livre en détail. (If I had had more time, I would have leafed through this book in detail.)
  2. Elle aurait feuilleté les magazines pendant des heures si elle n’avait pas dû partir. (She would have flipped through magazines for hours if she hadn’t had to leave.)
  3. Si vous aviez feuilleté le manuel d’utilisation, vous auriez su comment résoudre ce problème. (If you had leafed through the user manual, you would have known how to solve this problem.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais feuilleté Si j’avais plus de temps, j’aurais feuilleté ce livre. If I had more time, I would have flipped through this book.
tu aurais feuilleté Tu aurais feuilleté ce magazine. You would have flipped through this magazine.
il aurait feuilleté Il aurait feuilleté le catalogue. He would have flipped through the catalog.
elle aurait feuilleté Elle aurait feuilleté le journal. She would have flipped through the newspaper.
on aurait feuilleté On aurait feuilleté les pages du livre. One would have flipped through the pages of the book.
nous aurions feuilleté Nous aurions feuilleté les photos. We would have flipped through the photos.
vous auriez feuilleté Vous auriez feuilleté le livre avec moi. You would have flipped through the book with me.
ils auraient feuilleté Ils auraient feuilleté les magazines. They would have flipped through the magazines.
elles auraient feuilleté Elles auraient feuilleté les articles. They (female) would have flipped through the articles.

Other Conjugations for Feuilleter.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb feuilleter
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Feuilleter – 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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