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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb abandonner

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The English translation of the French verb “abandonner” is “to abandon” or “to give up.” The infinitive form “abandonner” is pronounced as ah-bahn-doh-neh.

The verb “abandonner” originates from the Latin word “abandonāre,” which means “to desert” or “to leave behind.” It is most commonly used in everyday French to express the act of giving up or leaving something or someone.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, which is a past tense used to describe actions that occurred before another past action, “abandonner” is conjugated with the auxiliary verb “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be) and the past participle “abandonné.”

Here are three simple examples of “abandonner” in the Passé Antérieur tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Ils eurent abandonné l’idée avant de trouver une solution.
    (They had given up on the idea before finding a solution.)

  2. Elle fut partie après avoir abandonné son projet.
    (She had left after giving up on her project.)

  3. Nous eûmes abandonné nos espoirs avant qu’ils ne reviennent.
    (We had given up our hopes before they returned.)

Table of the Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of abandonner

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’eus J’eus abandonné I had abandoned
tu tu eus Tu eus abandonné You had abandoned
il il eut Il eut abandonné He had abandoned
elle elle eut Elle eut abandonné She had abandoned
on on eut On eut abandonné One had abandoned
nous nous eûmes Nous eûmes abandonné We had abandoned
vous vous eûtes Vous eûtes abandonné You had abandoned
ils ils eurent Ils eurent abandonné They had abandoned
elles elles eurent Elles eurent abandonné They had abandoned

Other Conjugations for Abandonner.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abandonner

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

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

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

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

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

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abandonner (this article)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

L’impératif Passé (Imperative Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abandonner

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

L’infinitif Passé (Infinitive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abandonner

Le Participe Présent (Present Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abandonner

Le Participe Passé (Past Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abandonner

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Abandonner – About the French Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense

The French Passé Antérieur tense, often referred to as the “past anterior” in English, is a literary and formal past tense that is not commonly used in everyday spoken French. It is primarily found in written language, particularly in literature, historical texts, and formal writing. This tense is used to express actions that occurred before another action in the past, serving a similar purpose to the past perfect tense (passé composé) in English.

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

Formation of the Passé Antérieur

The Passé Antérieur is formed by using the third person singular of the passé simple (simple past) tense of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être,” followed by the past participle of the main verb. 
The choice between “avoir” and “être” as the auxiliary verb depends on the main verb and its transitivity or intransitivity. Here is the basic structure:
1. For verbs that use “avoir” as the auxiliary verb:
   – J’eus (I had) + past participle (of the main verb)
2. For verbs that use “être” as the auxiliary verb:
   – Je fus (I was) + past participle (of the main verb)

Common Usage Patterns

As mentioned earlier, the Passé Antérieur is primarily used in formal and literary contexts. It is rarely used in everyday spoken French, where the passé composé and imparfait are more commonly used to express past actions. Some common patterns of usage include:

Literature

The Passé Antérieur is frequently used in literature to describe past events in a succinct and formal manner.

Historical Texts

It is used in historical narratives to recount past actions and events.

Formal Writing

In formal and academic writing, the Passé Antérieur can be employed to convey events in the past with a sense of formality and precision.

Interactions with Other Tenses

The Passé Antérieur often interacts with other tenses, especially when narrating past events in a chronological order:

Passé Composé (Present Perfect)

The Passé Antérieur can be used to indicate an action that occurred before another action expressed in the passé composé. For example: “Il eut terminé son travail avant que je ne sois arrivé.” (He had finished his work before I arrived).

Imparfait (Imperfect)

The Passé Antérieur may be used in conjunction with the imparfait to convey a sequence of past actions. For instance: “Elle arriva après que nous eûmes commencé.” (She arrived after we had started).

Futur Antérieur (Future Perfect)

In the context of storytelling or narration, the Passé Antérieur can be used to describe events that happened before a future action expressed in the futur antérieur. For example: “Il partira après qu’il aura fini.” (He will leave after he has finished).

Summary

Passé Antérieur is a formal past tense used in written language and literary contexts to describe actions that occurred before another action in the past. It is not commonly used in everyday spoken French where you should instead use the passé composé and imparfait for discussing past events.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb abandonner. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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