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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décriminaliser

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The English translation of the French verb décriminaliser is “to decriminalize.” It is pronounced as “day-kree-mee-na-lee-zay” in its infinitive form.

Décriminaliser is a compound word formed by the prefix “dé-” meaning “un-” or “de-” and the noun “criminal.” It is derived from the Latin word “crimen,” meaning “crime,” and the suffix “-iser,” which is used to form verbs. The word was first used in the mid-19th century.

In everyday French, décriminaliser is most often used to refer to the legal process of removing criminal penalties for a certain act or behavior. It is often used in political or social contexts to discuss changes in laws or policies.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, which is the equivalent of the Past Perfect tense in English, décriminaliser is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. Here are three examples of its usage in this tense:

  1. Le gouvernement avait décriminalisé la possession de marijuana avant même que la loi ne soit votée. (The government had decriminalized the possession of marijuana even before the law was passed.)

  2. Les manifestations avaient provoqué un changement d’opinion et le gouvernement avait décriminalisé l’avortement en 1975. (The protests had caused a change in public opinion and the government had decriminalized abortion in 1975.)

  3. La décision de décriminaliser l’euthanasie avait été très controversée à l’époque. (The decision to decriminalize euthanasia had been very controversial at the time.)

English translations:

  1. The government had decriminalized the possession of marijuana even before the law was passed.
  2. The protests had caused a change in public opinion and the government had decriminalized abortion in 1975.
  3. The decision to decriminalize euthanasia had been very controversial at the time.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Décriminaliser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décriminaliser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Décriminaliser – 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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