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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb chavirer

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The English translation of the French verb chavirer is “to capsize” or “to overturn.” It is pronounced as “shah-vee-rey.”

The word chavirer comes from the Old French word “chaver,” which means “to fall” or “to tumble.” It originated from the Latin word “caput” which means “head.” In everyday French, chavirer is most often used in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) tense to indicate an action that happened in the past and is now completed.

Here are 3 simple examples of its usage in the Passé Composé tense with the respective English translations:

  1. Hier, mon bateau a chaviré pendant la tempête.
    Translation: Yesterday, my boat capsized during the storm.

  2. Le petit garçon a chaviré en essayant de monter sur le mur.
    Translation: The little boy overturned while trying to climb the wall.

  3. Les pompiers ont dû intervenir car un camion a chaviré sur l’autoroute.
    Translation: The firefighters had to intervene because a truck overturned on the highway.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai chaviré J’ai chaviré dans la mer. I capsized in the sea.
tu as chaviré Tu as chaviré avec le bateau. You capsized with the boat.
il a chaviré Il a chaviré à cause du vent. He capsized because of the wind.
elle a chaviré Elle a chaviré en sautant. She capsized while jumping.
on a chaviré On a chaviré en riant. We capsized while laughing.
nous avons chaviré Nous avons chaviré dans les rapides. We capsized in the rapids.
vous avez chaviré Vous avez chaviré à cause des vagues. You capsized because of the waves.
ils ont chaviré Ils ont chaviré en naviguant. They capsized while sailing.
elles ont chaviré Elles ont chaviré à cause de la tempête. They capsized because of the storm.

Other Conjugations for Chavirer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chavirer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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