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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb dégainer

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The English translation of the French verb dégainer is “to draw (a weapon).” It is pronounced as “day-gain-ay.”

The origin of the word dégainer can be traced back to the Old French word “deginer,” which meant “to unsheathe.” It is commonly used in everyday French in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is the past tense used to express an action that occurred before another action in the past.

Here are three simple examples of dégainer used in the Passé Antérieur tense with their English translations:

  1. J’eus dégainé mon épée avant qu’il ne puisse réagir. (I had drawn my sword before he could react.)

  2. Elle eut dégainé son revolver dès qu’elle vit l’ennemi approcher. (She had drawn her revolver as soon as she saw the enemy approaching.)

  3. Nous eûmes dégainé nos couteaux pour se défendre contre les agresseurs. (We had drawn our knives to defend ourselves against the attackers.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’eus dégainé J’eus dégainé mon arme I had drawn my weapon
tu tu eus dégainé Tu eus dégainé ton arme You had drawn your weapon
il il eut dégainé Il eut dégainé son arme He had drawn his weapon
elle elle eut dégainé Elle eut dégainé son arme She had drawn her weapon
on on eut dégainé On eut dégainé son arme One had drawn his/her weapon
nous nous eûmes dégainé Nous eûmes dégainé nos armes We had drawn our weapons
vous vous eûtes dégainé Vous eûtes dégainé vos armes You had drawn your weapons
ils ils eurent dégainé Ils eurent dégainé leurs armes They had drawn their weapons
elles elles eurent dégainé Elles eurent dégainé leurs armes They had drawn their weapons

Other Conjugations for Dégainer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb dégainer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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