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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb crétiniser

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The English translation of the French verb crétiniser is “to turn into a cretin” or “to make someone stupid.” It is pronounced “kreh-tee-nee-zay.”

The word crétiniser comes from the French word “crétin,” which means “stupid” or “idiot.” The suffix “-iser” is added to verbs in French to indicate a process or action. Therefore, crétiniser literally means “to make someone stupid.”

In everyday French, crétiniser in the Passé Antérieur tense is used to indicate a specific action that caused someone to become stupid in the past. It is often used in a humorous or exaggerated way.

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

  1. J’ai crétinisé mes amis en leur faisant croire que les licornes existaient. (I made my friends stupid by making them believe unicorns were real.)

  2. Tu avais crétinisé ton frère en lui apprenant à faire un tour de magie avec une fourchette. (You had made your brother stupid by teaching him a magic trick with a fork.)

  3. Il avait crétinisé sa petite amie en lui faisant regarder des heures de télé-réalité. (He had made his girlfriend stupid by making her watch hours of reality TV.)

English translations:

  1. I made my friends stupid by making them believe unicorns were real.
  2. You had made your brother stupid by teaching him a magic trick with a fork.
  3. He had made his girlfriend stupid by making her watch hours of reality TV.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Crétiniser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb crétiniser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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