Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contre-passer

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The English translation of the French verb contre-passer is “to counterbalance” or “to offset.” It is pronounced as “kon-truh-pa-sey,” with the stress on the second syllable.

The word contre-passer is derived from the French words “contre” meaning “against” and “passer” meaning “to pass.” It can be used as a transitive verb, meaning it requires a direct object, or as a reflexive verb, meaning the subject and object are the same.

In the Passé Composé tense, contre-passer is used to indicate an action that has been completed in the past and has had a counterbalancing effect on something else.

Here are three examples of contre-passer in the Passé Composé tense with their English translations:

  1. J’ai contre-passé mes dépenses avec mes économies. (I have offset my expenses with my savings.)
  2. Nous nous sommes contre-passés pour ne pas payer trop d’impôts. (We have counterbalanced each other to avoid paying too much taxes.)
  3. Les effets de la crise économique se sont contre-passés sur les petites entreprises. (The effects of the economic crisis have offset small businesses.)

In these examples, contre-passer is used to describe actions that have been completed in the past and have had a balancing effect on something else. It is commonly used in financial and economic contexts, but can also be used in other situations where there is a counterbalancing or offsetting effect.

Table of the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of contre-passer

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai contre-passé J’ai contre-passé l’obstacle. I overcame the obstacle.
tu as contre-passé Tu as contre-passé la difficulté. You overcame the difficulty.
il a contre-passé Il a contre-passé le concurrent. He overtook the opponent.
elle a contre-passé Elle a contre-passé l’adversaire. She overtook the adversary.
on a contre-passé On a contre-passé le record. We broke the record.
nous avons contre-passé Nous avons contre-passé la crise. We overcame the crisis.
vous avez contre-passé Vous avez contre-passé l’obstacle. You overcame the obstacle.
ils ont contre-passé Ils ont contre-passé les difficultés. They overcame the difficulties.
elles ont contre-passé Elles ont contre-passé les ennemis. They overcame the enemies.

Other Conjugations for Contre-Passer.

   
    Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

    Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer    (this article)

    Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

    Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

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

    Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

    Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

    Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

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

    Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer
   

    Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

    L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-passer

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

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Contre-Passer – 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 contre-passer. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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