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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb défrayer

Get the Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) tense conjugation of défrayer. Includes a FREE downloadable reference sheet (no email required). Alternatively if you have a lot of text to check then use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!

The English translation of the French verb défrayer is “to pay for” or “to cover the expenses.” It is pronounced as “day-fray-ay” in its infinitive form.

Défrayer comes from the Old French word “defrayer,” meaning “to pay for,” which is derived from the Latin word “disfractare,” meaning “to break or divide.” In everyday French, défrayer is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is a literary past tense used to describe actions that happened before another past action. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the past tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Here are three examples of défrayer in the Passé Antérieur tense:

  1. J’eus défrayé les frais de mon voyage avant de partir. (I had paid for my trip expenses before leaving.)
  2. Tu eus défrayé les dépenses de la fête sans me le dire. (You had covered the party expenses without telling me.)
  3. Ils eurent défrayé tous les coûts liés à la rénovation de leur maison. (They had paid for all the costs related to their house renovation.)

In these examples, défrayer is used to express actions that were completed before another past action. These sentences could also be written in the passé composé or imparfait tense, but using the Passé Antérieur gives a more literary and formal tone to the sentence.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Défrayer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb défrayer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get a FREE Download Study Sheet of this Conjugation 🔥

Simply right click the image below, click “save image” and get your free reference for the défrayer Passé Antérieur tense conjugation!

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

Similar Posts