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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décompter

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The English translation of the French verb décompter is “to deduct” or “to count down.” The infinitive form of décompter is pronounced as “day-compt-ay.”

Décompter comes from the Latin word “decomputare,” which means “to subtract.” It is most commonly used in modern French to refer to the act of subtracting or deducting a certain amount from a total number.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, décompter is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. It is formed by conjugating the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Passé Simple tense, followed by the past participle of décompter. For example:

  1. J’eus décompté mes économies avant de partir en voyage. (I had deducted my savings before leaving on a trip.)
  2. Elle fut surprise quand elle eut décompté les erreurs dans son compte bancaire. (She was surprised when she had counted the errors in her bank account.)
  3. Nous sûmes que nous avions décompté trop d’argent après avoir vérifié nos dépenses. (We knew that we had deducted too much money after checking our expenses.)

In every day French, décompter is commonly used in financial contexts, such as calculating taxes or making deductions from a salary. It can also be used in a more general sense to describe subtracting or taking away from something.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Décompter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décompter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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