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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb disputer

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The English translation of the French verb disputer is “to dispute.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “dee-spoo-tay.”

The word disputer comes from the Latin word “disputare,” which means “to discuss” or “to dispute.” It entered the French language during the 12th century. In everyday French, disputer is most often used in the Passé Antérieur tense, which is a compound past tense used to indicate an action that occurred before another past action.

Here are three simple examples of disputer in the Passé Antérieur tense with their respective English translations:

  1. Il avait disputé sa défaite avant de quitter la pièce. (He had disputed his defeat before leaving the room.)
  2. Nous avions déjà disputé le match quand il est arrivé. (We had already disputed the match when he arrived.)
  3. Les deux équipes s’étaient disputées la victoire jusqu’à la dernière minute. (The two teams had disputed the victory until the last minute.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’eusse disputé J’eusse disputé avec mon frère I had argued with my brother
tu tu eusses disputé Tu eusses disputé avec ta sœur You had argued with your sister
il il eût disputé Il eût disputé avec son ami He had argued with his friend
elle elle eût disputé Elle eût disputé avec son père She had argued with her father
on on eût disputé On eût disputé avec son voisin One had argued with his neighbor
nous nous eûmes disputé Nous eûmes disputé avec nos amis We had argued with our friends
vous vous eûtes disputé Vous eûtes disputé avec votre patron You had argued with your boss
ils ils eurent disputé Ils eurent disputé avec leurs voisins They had argued with their neighbors
elles elles eurent disputé Elles eurent disputé avec leurs enfants They had argued with their children

Other Conjugations for Disputer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb disputer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Disputer – 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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