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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb déparler

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The English translation of the French verb déparler is “to speak ill of.” It is pronounced “day-par-lay.”

Déparler comes from the combination of the prefix “dé-” which can have various meanings including to undo or to reverse, and the verb “parler” which means “to speak.” Therefore, déparler can be understood as the act of speaking against or undoing something that was previously said.

In everyday French, déparler is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense. This tense is used to talk about an action that happened before another past action. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the passé simple tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Here are 3 examples of déparler in the Passé Antérieur tense:

  1. J’avais déparlé de mon voisin avant d’apprendre qu’il était mon nouveau collègue. (I had spoken ill of my neighbor before finding out he was my new colleague.)

  2. Ils avaient déparlé de leur amie avant de réaliser qu’elle était derrière eux. (They had spoken ill of their friend before realizing she was behind them.)

  3. Elle était déparlée par ses anciens amis avant de se faire des nouveaux. (She had been spoken ill of by her old friends before making new ones.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Déparler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb déparler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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