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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb cantonner

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The English translation of the French verb cantonner is “to quarter” or “to lodge”. It is pronounced “kahn-ton-nay”.

The word cantonner comes from the Old French word “canton”, meaning “corner” or “region”. It is most often used in everyday French in the Passé Composé tense, which is the equivalent of the English present perfect tense.

Examples of using cantonner in the Passé Composé tense are:

  1. Nous avons été cantonnés dans un petit village pendant la durée de notre séjour. (We were quartered in a small village during our stay.)
  2. Les soldats ont été cantonnés dans des tentes près de la frontière. (The soldiers were lodged in tents near the border.)
  3. Les étudiants ont été cantonnés dans une auberge de jeunesse lors de leur voyage à Paris. (The students were quartered in a youth hostel during their trip to Paris.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai cantonné J’ai cantonné dans un hôtel. I stayed in a hotel.
tu as cantonné Tu as cantonné à la campagne. You stayed in the countryside.
il a cantonné Il a cantonné dans une caserne. He stayed in a barracks.
elle a cantonné Elle a cantonné dans un appartement. She stayed in an apartment.
on a cantonné On a cantonné dans une petite ville. We stayed in a small town.
nous avons cantonné Nous avons cantonné au bord de la mer. We stayed by the sea.
vous avez cantonné Vous avez cantonné chez des amis. You stayed at your friends’ house.
ils ont cantonné Ils ont cantonné à la montagne. They stayed in the mountains.
elles ont cantonné Elles ont cantonné dans un chalet. They stayed in a cottage.

Other Conjugations for Cantonner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cantonner
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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