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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb démilitariser

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The English translation of the French verb démilitariser is “to demilitarize.” It is pronounced as “day-mee-lee-tah-ree-zay.”

The word démilitariser comes from the French prefix “dé-“, meaning “to undo,” and the word “militariser,” meaning “to militarize.” It was first used in the early 20th century during World War I and became more commonly used after World War II.

In everyday French, démilitariser is often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is used to describe an action that took place before another action in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb avoir or être in the imparfait tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Three simple examples of démilitariser in the Passé Antérieur tense are:

  1. Les pays alliés avaient démilitarisé l’Allemagne avant de la réunifier en 1990. (The allied countries had demilitarized Germany before reunifying it in 1990.)

  2. La paix a été signée après que les deux parties ont démilitarisé leurs forces. (Peace was signed after both sides had demilitarized their forces.)

  3. La région a été déclarée démilitarisée après la fin de la guerre. (The region was declared demilitarized after the end of the war.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Démilitariser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb démilitariser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Démilitariser – 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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