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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb débuter

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The English translation of the French verb débuter is “to start, to begin.” It is pronounced “day-byoo-tay.”

The verb débuter comes from the French word début, meaning “beginning, start.” It originated from the Latin word debūtāre, which means “to lead off, to make the beginning.”

In everyday French, débuter is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is the past tense used for actions that were completed 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 of the verb.

Here are three examples of its usage in the Passé Antérieur tense with their English translations:

  1. J’eus débuté ma carrière de chanteuse avant de devenir actrice. (I had started my singing career before becoming an actress.)
  2. Les joueurs avaient débuté le match avant que la pluie ne commence à tomber. (The players had begun the game before the rain started to fall.)
  3. Elle fut très surprise quand elle apprit que son fils avait débuté ses études en médecine. (She was very surprised when she found out that her son had started his studies in medicine.)

In all of these examples, débuter is used to express an action that was completed before another past action. It can also be used in other tenses, such as the present tense (je débute – I am starting) or the future tense (il débutera – he will start), to express the idea of beginning or starting something.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’eus débuté J’eus débuté le projet I had started the project
tu tu eusses débuté Tu eusses débuté le projet You had started the project
il il eût débuté Il eût débuté le projet He had started the project
elle elle eût débuté Elle eût débuté le projet She had started the project
on on eût débuté On eût débuté le projet One had started the project
nous nous eûmes débuté Nous eûmes débuté le projet We had started the project
vous vous eûtes débuté Vous eûtes débuté le projet You had started the project
ils ils eurent débuté Ils eurent débuté le projet They had started the project
elles elles eurent débuté Elles eurent débuté le projet They had started the project

Other Conjugations for Débuter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb débuter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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