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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb déposséder

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The English translation of the French verb déposséder is “to dispossess” or “to strip someone of their possessions or rights.”

The infinitive form of déposséder is pronounced as “day-poh-seh-day.”

Déposséder comes from the Latin word “possidere” meaning “to possess.” It entered the French language in the 12th century and has been used to refer to the act of taking away someone’s property or rights.

In everyday French, déposséder is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is a literary tense used to describe an action that happened before another action in the past.

Here are three examples of déposséder in the Passé Antérieur tense with their English translations:

  1. Les révolutionnaires eurent dépossédé le roi de ses terres et de son pouvoir. (The revolutionaries had dispossessed the king of his lands and power.)
  2. Après le divorce, elle avait dépossédé son ex-mari de sa maison et de ses biens. (After the divorce, she had stripped her ex-husband of his house and belongings.)
  3. Les colons européens avaient dépossédé les autochtones de leurs terres en Amérique. (European colonists had dispossessed the native people of their lands in America.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’eus dépossédé J’eus dépossédé mes ennemis I had dispossessed my enemies
tu tu eus dépossédé Tu eus dépossédé tes adversaires You had dispossessed your opponents
il il eut dépossédé Il eut dépossédé ses concurrents He had dispossessed his competitors
elle elle eut dépossédé Elle eut dépossédé ses rivaux She had dispossessed her rivals
on on eut dépossédé On eut dépossédé les envahisseurs One had dispossessed the invaders
nous nous eûmes dépossédé Nous eûmes dépossédé nos adversaires We had dispossessed our opponents
vous vous eûtes dépossédé Vous eûtes dépossédé vos ennemis You had dispossessed your enemies
ils ils eurent dépossédé Ils eurent dépossédé leurs ennemis They had dispossessed their enemies
elles elles eurent dépossédé Elles eurent dépossédé leurs adversaires They had dispossessed their opponents

Other Conjugations for Déposséder.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb déposséder
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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