Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contre-miner

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The English translation of the French verb contre-miner is “to countermine.” It is pronounced “kohn-truh-mee-nay.”

Contre-miner comes from the prefix “contre,” meaning “against,” and the verb “miner,” meaning “to mine.” The literal translation is “to mine against,” but the term is most commonly used to describe the act of undermining or sabotaging someone else’s plans or efforts.

In everyday French, contre-miner is often used in the Conditionnel Présent tense to express a possible action that would counter or sabotage something else. It can also be used in a hypothetical or conditional sense.

Here are three simple examples of contre-miner in the Conditionnel Présent tense with their English translations:

  1. Si nous contre-minions cette stratégie, nous pourrions peut-être gagner la guerre. (If we countermined this strategy, we might be able to win the war.)

  2. Ils contre-mineraient nos plans s’ils découvraient nos intentions. (They would undermine our plans if they found out our intentions.)

  3. Je t’ai dit que je contre-minerais tes projets si tu ne me faisais pas confiance. (I told you I would sabotage your plans if you didn’t trust me.)

Table of the Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of contre-miner

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je contre-minerais Je contre-minerais avant la bataille. I would counter-mine before the battle.
tu contre-minerais Tu contre-minerais le terrain. You would counter-mine the field.
il contre-minerait Il contre-minerait pour protéger son pays. He would counter-mine to protect his country.
elle contre-minerait Elle contre-minerait la frontière. She would counter-mine the border.
on contre-minerait On contre-minerait la zone dangereuse. One would counter-mine the dangerous zone.
nous contre-minerions Nous contre-minerions le chemin. We would counter-mine the path.
vous contre-mineriez Vous contre-mineriez les tunnels. You would counter-mine the tunnels.
ils contre-mineraient Ils contre-mineraient l’ennemi. They would counter-mine the enemy.
elles contre-mineraient Elles contre-mineraient les explosifs. They would counter-mine the explosives.

Other Conjugations for Contre-Miner.

   
    Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

    Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

    Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

    Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

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

    Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

    Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

    Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner
   

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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

    Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner (this article)

    Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

    L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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Contre-Miner – About the French Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense

The French “Conditionnel Présent” tense, often called the present conditional tense in English, is used to express actions or events that are considered hypothetical, possible, or uncertain in the present or future. It’s the equivalent of “would” or “could” in English.

NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation

To form the Conditionnel Présent tense for regular verbs, you take the infinitive form of the verb and add the appropriate endings. For example, using the verb “parler” (to speak): 

Je parlerais (I would speak) 
Tu parlerais (You would speak)
Il/elle/on parlerait (He/she/one would speak)
Nous parlerions (We would speak) 
Vous parleriez (You would speak)
Ils/elles parleraient (They would speak) 

Note – For irregular verbs, the stem might change, so you need to memorize the conjugation.

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

Expressing Polite Requests

The Conditionnel Présent is often used to make polite requests or suggestions. Instead of using the imperative, which can be more direct, the conditional is softer and more courteous. For example: “Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît” (I would like a coffee, please). 

Expressing Hypothetical Situations

It’s used to talk about hypothetical or unreal situations. For instance, “Si j’avais de l’argent, j’achèterais une nouvelle voiture” (If I had money, I would buy a new car). 

Expressing Doubt or Uncertainty

The conditional can convey doubt or uncertainty about something in the present or future. “Il serait peut-être en retard” (He might be late).

Interactions with Other Tenses

Present Tense

The Conditionnel Présent is often used with the present tense to express hypothetical or conditional statements. For example, “Si tu viens demain, nous irons au cinéma” (If you come tomorrow, we will go to the movies). 

Past Tense

The Conditionnel Présent can also be used with past tenses like the imparfait to indicate a past hypothetical action. For instance, “J’aurais aimé être là hier” (I would have liked to be there yesterday). 

Future Tense

The Conditionnel Présent can be combined with the future tense to indicate future actions that are dependent on certain conditions. For example, “Il viendrait si tu l’invitais” (He would come if you invited him).
 

Conditional Perfect

If you want to express a hypothetical action in the past that didn’t happen, you can use the Conditionnel Présent with the past participle to form the conditional perfect. For example, “Il aurait fini son travail s’il n’était pas tombé malade” (He would have finished his work if he hadn’t gotten sick).

Summary

The Conditionnel Présent is a versatile tense in French, allowing speakers to discuss possibilities, hypothetical scenarios, and make polite requests. It’s essential to understand its usage patterns and how it interacts with other tenses to communicate effectively in various situations.

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