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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb déguiser

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The English translation of the French verb déguiser is “to disguise.” It is pronounced as “day-gee-zay.”

Déguiser comes from the Old French word “desguiser,” which means “to change one’s appearance.” It is most commonly used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is the past tense used for actions that were completed before another past action.

Three simple examples of its usage in the Passé Antérieur tense are:

  1. J’ai déguisé mon frère pour la fête. (I disguised my brother for the party.) – This shows an action that was completed before another past action, such as attending the party.

  2. Tu as déguisé ton chien en lion pour Halloween. (You disguised your dog as a lion for Halloween.) – This also shows a completed action before another past action, in this case celebrating Halloween.

  3. Il a déguisé sa voix pour jouer une blague à ses amis. (He disguised his voice to play a prank on his friends.) – This example shows an action that was completed before another past action, in this case, playing a prank on his friends.

In everyday French, déguiser can also be used in other tenses and with different meanings, such as “to deceive” or “to pretend.” For example:

  • Elle se déguise en artiste pour attirer l’attention. (She pretends to be an artist to get attention.)
  • Nous avons déguisé la vérité pour ne pas blesser ses sentiments. (We disguised the truth to not hurt his feelings.)
  • Ils ont essayé de déguiser leur accent pour mieux s’intégrer. (They tried to disguise their accent to better integrate.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Déguiser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb déguiser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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