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

Introduction to the verb acculer

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The English translation of the French verb acculer is “to back someone into a corner” or “to corner someone.” The infinitive form of acculer is pronounced “ah-kew-lay.”

Acculer comes from the Latin word “acculāre,” which means “to push against.” It entered the French language in the 16th century and has been used in everyday French to describe a situation where someone is being pressured or pushed into a difficult position.

In the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) tense, acculer is commonly used as a transitive verb, meaning it requires a direct object. It is often used with the auxiliary verb “avoir,” but can also be used with “être” when describing a movement or change in location. Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense:

  1. Je l’ai acculé contre le mur. (I backed him into the wall.)
  2. Elle s’est acculée dans un coin de la pièce. (She cornered herself in a corner of the room.)
  3. Nous avons été acculés à prendre une décision rapide. (We were backed into a corner and had to make a quick decision.)

Table of the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of acculer

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Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai acculé J’ai acculé mon adversaire. I cornered my opponent.
tu as acculé Tu as acculé le chien. You cornered the dog.
il a acculé Il a acculé les manifestants. He cornered the protesters.
elle a acculé Elle a acculé son patron. She cornered her boss.
on a acculé On a acculé le coupable. We cornered the culprit.
nous avons acculé Nous avons acculé l’ennemi. We cornered the enemy.
vous avez acculé Vous avez acculé l’équipe adverse. You cornered the opposing team.
ils ont acculé Ils ont acculé le voleur. They cornered the thief.
elles ont acculé Elles ont acculé la voiture. They cornered the car.

Other Conjugations for Acculer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb acculer
   

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

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb acculer    (this article)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Acculer – About the French Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense

The French Passé Composé is a compound tense used to express actions or events that have been completed in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses in the French language and is typically used in everyday conversation to describe actions that occurred at a specific point in the past. The Passé Composé is constructed using an auxiliary verb (either “être” or “avoir”) and a past participle.

NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see our article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation of the Passé Composé

Set the auxiliary verb with either

“être” – used with a select group of verbs (mostly intransitive verbs of motion, reflexive verbs, and some others) or
“avoir” – used with most other verbs. 

Conjugate the auxiliary verb

If using “être,” you must conjugate it in the present tense according to the subject of the sentence. 
Je suis, Tu es, Il est, Nous sommes, Vous êtes, Ils sont 
If using “avoir,” conjugate it according to the subject as well: 
J’ai, Tu as, Elle a, Nous avons, Vous avez, Ils ont.  

Add the past participle

For regular -er verbs, remove the -er ending and add -é (e.g., “parler” becomes “parlé”). 
For regular -ir verbs, remove the -ir ending and add -i (e.g., “finir” becomes “fini”). 
For regular -re verbs, remove the -re ending and add -u (e.g., “vendre” becomes “vendu”). 
For irregular verbs, you’ll need to learn the past participles individually, as they don’t follow a regular pattern.

Common everyday usage patterns

Narrating Past Events

The Passé Composé is used to talk about specific actions or events that took place in the past. For example: “Hier, j’ai mangé une pizza” (Yesterday, I ate a pizza). 

Sequential Actions

When describing a series of actions in the past, the Passé Composé is used. For example: “D’abord, je me suis réveillé, puis je suis allé travailler” (First, I woke up, then I went to work). 

Describing Completed Actions

It’s used to emphasize that an action has been completed, often with a specific time reference. For example: “Elle a terminé son travail à 18 heures” (She finished her work at 6 p.m.). 

Interactions with other tenses

Imperfect Tense

The Passé Composé is often used in conjunction with the imperfect tense when telling a story or describing past events. The Passé Composé is used for specific actions that occurred, while the imperfect is used for background information or ongoing actions. 
For example: “Il pleuvait quand j’ai sorti mon parapluie” (It was raining when I took out my umbrella).

Conditional and Future Tenses

The Passé Composé is used as a reference point in complex sentences to establish the sequence of events in relation to future or conditional actions. 
For example: “Quand il est arrivé, je lui ai donné ton message” (When he arrived, I gave him your message). 

Summary

The French Passé Composé is an essential tense for talking about completed actions in the past in everyday conversation. It’s important to master the choice of auxiliary verb and the past participle conjugation for various verbs to use it effectively.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb acculer. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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