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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb acheter

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The French verb “acheter” means “to buy” in English. It is pronounced “ah-shuh-tay” in its infinitive form.

The language origin of “acheter” can be traced back to the Latin word “accapare”, meaning “to take possession of”. It entered the French language in the 12th century from the Old French word “achater”, which had a similar meaning.

In everyday French, “acheter” is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is a past tense used to describe actions that were completed before another past action. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Imparfait tense followed by the past participle of “acheter”.

Three simple examples of “acheter” in the Passé Antérieur tense, with their English translations, are:

  1. J’avais acheté un cadeau pour mon ami avant qu’il n’arrive. (I had bought a gift for my friend before he arrived.)

  2. Elle fut ravie quand elle eut acheté sa maison de rêve. (She was thrilled when she had bought her dream house.)

  3. Nous étions déjà partis quand ils eurent acheté les billets pour le concert. (We had already left when they had bought the tickets for the concert.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Acheter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb acheter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Struggling with French verbs or the language in general? Why not use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!
   

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Acheter – 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 acheter. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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