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

Introduction to the verb désemprisonner

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The English translation of désemprisonner is “to release from prison” or “to set free from prison.”

The pronunciation of the infinitive form of désemprisonner is “day-zehm-pree-zoh-nay.”

The word désemprisonner comes from the prefix “dés-” meaning “un-” or “de-” and the verb “emprisonner” which means “to imprison.” In everyday French, désemprisonner is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense to talk about actions that were completed in the past before another action in the past.

Examples:
1) J’avais désemprisonné tous les prisonniers avant que la guerre ne prenne fin. (I had released all the prisoners before the war ended.)
2) Tu avais désemprisonné ce criminel avant qu’il ne commette un autre crime. (You had set free this criminal before he committed another crime.)
3) Le président avait désemprisonné les prisonniers politiques avant son mandat ne se termine. (The president had released political prisoners before his term ended.)

English translations:
1) I had released all the prisoners before the war ended.
2) You had set free this criminal before he committed another crime.
3) The president had released political prisoners before his term ended.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’eus désemprisonné J’eus désemprisonné la victime I had freed the victim
tu tu eusses désemprisonné Tu eusses désemprisonné la victime You had freed the victim
il il eût désemprisonné Il eût désemprisonné la victime He had freed the victim
elle elle eût désemprisonné Elle eût désemprisonné la victime She had freed the victim
on on eût désemprisonné On eût désemprisonné la victime One had freed the victim
nous nous eûmes désemprisonné Nous eûmes désemprisonné la victime We had freed the victim
vous vous eûtes désemprisonné Vous eûtes désemprisonné la victime You had freed the victim
ils ils eurent désemprisonné Ils eurent désemprisonné la victime They had freed the victim
elles elles eurent désemprisonné Elles eurent désemprisonné la victime They had freed the victim

Other Conjugations for Désemprisonner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb désemprisonner
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Désemprisonner – 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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