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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb bastillonner

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The English translation of the French verb bastillonner is “to barricade” or “to block off”. It is pronounced as /bas.ti.jɔ.ne/.

The word bastillonner comes from the noun “bastille”, which refers to a medieval fortification, and the suffix “-onner” which is used to form verbs. The term originated in the 17th century and was primarily used in a military context to refer to the act of building barricades or fortifications.

In everyday French, bastillonner is often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is a compound tense used to describe actions that occurred before another past action. It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the passé simple tense with the past participle of the main verb.

Here are three examples of bastillonner used in the Passé Antérieur tense:

  1. Les manifestants avaient bastillonné les rues avant l’arrivée de la police.
    (The protesters had barricaded the streets before the police arrived.)

  2. Les soldats avaient bastillonné le pont pour empêcher l’avancée de l’ennemi.
    (The soldiers had blocked off the bridge to prevent the enemy from advancing.)

  3. Les habitants avaient bastillonné leurs maisons pour se protéger des inondations.
    (The residents had barricaded their homes to protect themselves from the floods.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Bastillonner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb bastillonner
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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