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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb gendarmer

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The English translation of the French verb gendarmer is “to police” or “to garrison.” The infinitive form is pronounced “zhahn-dahr-may.”

Gendarmer comes from the Old French “gens d’armes,” which means “armed men.” It is most often used in everyday French as a noun, referring to a member of the national police force in France. In the Conditionnel Passé tense, it is used to talk about a hypothetical action that would have taken place in the past.

  1. Si j’avais su que les gendarmes allaient arriver si vite, j’aurais évité l’accident. (If I had known the police were going to arrive so quickly, I would have avoided the accident.)
  2. Tu aurais mieux fait de ne pas provoquer les gendarmes, maintenant tu es en prison. (You should have not provoked the police, now you are in jail.)
  3. S’il n’y avait pas eu de gendarmes présents, la manifestation aurait dégénéré en violence. (If there hadn’t been any police present, the protest would have turned violent.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais gendarmé Si j’avais su, j’aurais gendarmé. I would have gendarme’d.
tu aurais gendarmé Tu aurais gendarmé plus tôt. You would have gendarme’d earlier.
il aurait gendarmé Il aurait gendarmé les suspects. He would have gendarme’d the suspects.
elle aurait gendarmé Elle aurait gendarmé la foule. She would have gendarme’d the crowd.
on aurait gendarmé On aurait gendarmé la ville. One would have gendarme’d the city.
nous aurions gendarmé Nous aurions gendarmé les rues. We would have gendarme’d the streets.
vous auriez gendarmé Vous auriez gendarmé la région. You would have gendarme’d the region.
ils auraient gendarmé Ils auraient gendarmé la frontière. They would have gendarme’d the border.
elles auraient gendarmé Elles auraient gendarmé les criminels. They (female) would have gendarme’d the criminals.

Other Conjugations for Gendarmer.

    

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb gendarmer
     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Gendarmer – 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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