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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb colorer

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The English translation of the French verb colorer is “to color”. It is pronounced as “koh-loh-reh” in the infinitive form.

Colorer comes from the Latin word “colorare” which means “to color”. It is often used in its reflexive form “se colorer” which means “to become colored”. In everyday French, it is commonly used to describe the action of adding color to something, whether it is a physical object or an idea.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, colorer is used to describe an action that happened before another past action. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Passé Simple tense followed by the past participle “coloré”.

Example 1: J’ai coloré le dessin avant de le découper. (I colored the drawing before cutting it.)
Example 2: Elle s’est colorée les cheveux avant de partir en vacances. (She colored her hair before going on vacation.)
Example 3: Nous avons coloré la chambre avant que les invités arrivent. (We colored the room before the guests arrived.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Colorer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb colorer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Colorer – 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.

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