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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb défruiter

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The English translation of the French verb défruiter is “to defruit” or “to remove the fruit from”. The infinitive form is pronounced “deh-froo-tee-ay”.

The word défruiter comes from the French prefix “dé-“, meaning “down” or “remove”, and the word “fruit”, meaning “fruit”. It is most often used in everyday French to describe the action of removing fruit from a tree, plant, or other surface.

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

  1. Nous avions défruité tous les arbres avant la tempête. (We had defruited all the trees before the storm.)
  2. Tu avais défruité le jardin quand je suis rentré. (You had defruited the garden when I came back.)
  3. Ils avaient défruité les vignes avant la récolte. (They had defruited the vines before the harvest.)

In these examples, défruiter is used to describe an action that was completed before another past action, such as a storm, someone’s return, or a harvest.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Défruiter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb défruiter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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