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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb dépeupler

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The English translation of the French verb dépeupler is “to depopulate.” It is pronounced as “day-peh-poo-pleh” in the infinitive form.

Dépeupler comes from the French words “dé” meaning “de” or “away” and “peuple” meaning “people.” It is most often used in everyday French to describe the act of reducing the population of a place or causing people to leave.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, dépeupler is used to describe an action that occurred in the past and was completed before another action in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the passé simple tense, followed by the past participle of dépeupler.

Here are three examples of dépeupler used in the Passé Antérieur tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Les guerres ont dépeuplé la ville. (The wars depopulated the city.)
  2. J’ai dépeuplé mon village natal pour poursuivre mes études en ville. (I depopulated my hometown to pursue my studies in the city.)
  3. Après avoir dépeuplé la région, les colons se sont installés sur ces terres fertiles. (After depopulating the region, the settlers settled on these fertile lands.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Dépeupler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb dépeupler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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