Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Introduction to the verb chercher
The English translation of the French verb chercher is “to search” or “to look for.” The infinitive form of chercher is pronounced [ʃɛʁ.ʃe].
The word chercher comes from the Old French word “cerchier,” which is derived from the Latin word “circare,” meaning “to go around.” It first appeared in written French in the 12th century and has remained an important and commonly used verb in the language.
In everyday French, chercher is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is used to talk about an action that happened in the past before another action or event. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb avoir or être in the past tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Here are three simple examples of its usage in the Passé Antérieur tense, with the respective English translations:
- J’ai cherché mes clés avant de partir. (I searched for my keys before leaving.)
- Elle a cherché son téléphone après avoir entendu le bruit. (She looked for her phone after hearing the noise.)
- Nous avons cherché un restaurant avant de rentrer à l’hôtel. (We searched for a restaurant before going back to the hotel.)
Table of the Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of chercher
Pronoun | Conjugation | Short Example | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | j’eusse | J’eusse cherché | I had searched |
tu | tu eusses | Tu eusses cherché | You had searched |
il | il eût | Il eût cherché | He had searched |
elle | elle eût | Elle eût cherché | She had searched |
on | on eût | On eût cherché | One had searched |
nous | nous eûmes | Nous eûmes cherché | We had searched |
vous | vous eûtes | Vous eûtes cherché | You had searched |
ils | ils eurent | Ils eurent cherché | They had searched |
elles | elles eurent | Elles eurent cherché | They had searched |
Other Conjugations for Chercher.
Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher (this article)
Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chercher
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Chercher – About the French Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense
Formation of the Passé Antérieur
Common Usage Patterns
Literature
Historical Texts
Formal Writing
Interactions with Other Tenses
Passé Composé (Present Perfect)
Imparfait (Imperfect)
Futur Antérieur (Future Perfect)
Summary
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