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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb cabaler

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The English translation of the French verb cabaler is “to scheme” or “to plot”. It is pronounced as “ka-ba-leh”.

The origin of the verb cabaler can be traced back to the Latin word “caballus”, meaning “horse”. In French, “cabaler” originally referred to the act of using horses in battles or for transportation. Over time, it came to mean “to make secret plans” or “to plot”.

In everyday French, the verb cabaler is most often used in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) tense to describe a completed action or event in the past. Here are three examples of its usage:

  1. J’ai cabalé toute la nuit pour organiser la surprise. (I schemed all night to organize the surprise.)

  2. Tu as cabalé avec tes collègues pour obtenir une promotion. (You plotted with your colleagues to get a promotion.)

  3. Ils ont cabalé contre leur patron pour le faire renvoyer. (They schemed against their boss to get him fired.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai cabalé J’ai cabalé pour gagner les élections. I schemed to win the elections.
tu as cabalé Tu as cabalé avec tes amis pour mon anniversaire. You plotted with your friends for my birthday.
il a cabalé Il a cabalé pour obtenir une promotion. He schemed to get a promotion.
elle a cabalé Elle a cabalé pour organiser une fête surprise. She schemed to organize a surprise party.
on a cabalé On a cabalé pour trouver une solution. We schemed to find a solution.
nous avons cabalé Nous avons cabalé pour obtenir des réponses. We schemed to get some answers.
vous avez cabalé Vous avez cabalé pour réussir l’examen. You schemed to pass the exam.
ils ont cabalé Ils ont cabalé pour gagner le match. They schemed to win the game.
elles ont cabalé Elles ont cabalé pour améliorer leurs notes. They schemed to improve their grades.

Other Conjugations for Cabaler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cabaler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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