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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb diviser

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The English translation of the French verb diviser is “to divide.” It is pronounced “dee-vee-zay” in the infinitive form.

The word “diviser” comes from the Latin word “dividere,” meaning “to separate.” In everyday French, it is most often used to indicate the act of separating something into two or more parts, or to divide something into smaller portions.

In the Passé Antérieur tense, diviser is used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past. It is formed by conjugating the auxiliary verb avoir in the Passé Simple tense, followed by the past participle divisé.

Three examples of diviser in the Passé Antérieur tense are:

  1. Nous eûmes divisé notre temps entre nos amis et notre travail. (We had divided our time between our friends and our work.)
  2. Tu eus divisé la tarte en huit parts égales. (You had divided the pie into eight equal pieces.)
  3. Ils eurent divisé l’héritage de leur grand-mère après sa mort. (They had divided their grandmother’s inheritance after her death.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Diviser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb diviser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Diviser – 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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