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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb cordonner

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English translation: The English translation of cordonner is “to fix shoes” or “to cobble”. The infinitive form is pronounced as “kor-doh-ne”.

Language origin: The term cordonner comes from the Old French word “cordon” meaning “cord” or “string”, referencing the laces used to fasten shoes. It is derived from the Latin word “cordo” which means “to tie”.

Everyday usage in Passé Antérieur tense: In everyday French, cordonner is often used in the Passé Antérieur tense to talk about actions that were completed in the past before another action. Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense:

  1. Quand j’ai vu que mes chaussures étaient abîmées, je les ai cordonnées. (When I saw that my shoes were damaged, I fixed them.)
  2. Après avoir couru le marathon, j’ai cordonné mes baskets pour qu’elles soient prêtes pour la prochaine course. (After running the marathon, I cobbled my sneakers so that they would be ready for the next race.)
  3. Ayant remarqué un trou dans sa chaussure, elle les a cordonnées avant de partir au travail. (Having noticed a hole in her shoe, she cobbled them before leaving for work.)

English translations:

  1. When I saw that my shoes were damaged, I fixed them.
  2. After running the marathon, I cobbled my sneakers so that they would be ready for the next race.
  3. Having noticed a hole in her shoe, she cobbled them before leaving for work.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Cordonner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cordonner
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Cordonner – 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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