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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb champlever

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The English translation of the French verb champlever is “to fill in enamel.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “shahm-pleh-vay.”

The word champlever comes from the French words “champ” meaning field, and “levee” meaning raised. It originated in the Middle Ages as a technique for decorating metal objects with enamel. In modern French, it is most often used to describe the process of filling in the grooves of a metal surface with colored enamel.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, champlever is used to talk about actions that were completed before another action in the past. Here are 3 simple examples:

  1. J’ai champlevé la broche avant de la polir. (I had filled in the brooch before polishing it.)
  2. Tu avais champlevé les boucles d’oreilles avant de les vendre. (You had filled in the earrings before selling them.)
  3. Il avait champlevé le pendentif avant de le donner à sa mère. (He had filled in the pendant before giving it to his mother.)

These examples all show an action that was completed in the past (champlever) before another action (polishing, selling, giving) took place.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Champlever.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb champlever
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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