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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb débiter

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The English translation of the French verb débiter is “to debit” or “to cut.”

The infinitive form of débiter is pronounced “deh-bee-tay.”

The language origin of débiter comes from the Latin word “debitare,” which means “to owe,” and the French word “bit,” which means “to cut.” In everyday French, débiter is most often used in the passé composé tense, which is the equivalent of the present perfect tense in English. This tense is used to talk about actions or events that have been completed in the past.

Here are three simple examples of débiter in the passé composé tense:

  1. J’ai débité le bois pour faire une étagère. (I debited/cut the wood to make a shelf.)
  2. Elle a débité son compte en banque pour payer ses dettes. (She debited her bank account to pay her debts.)
  3. Nous avons débité les cartes de crédit pour acheter les billets d’avion. (We debited the credit cards to buy the plane tickets.)

In these examples, débiter is used in its literal sense of cutting or debiting something. However, it can also be used figuratively to mean “to spend” or “to use up.” For example:

  1. Tu as débité toutes les données de notre forfait internet. (You used up all the data from our internet plan.)
  2. Les clients ont débité tout notre stock de produits en promotion. (The customers have depleted all our stock of products on sale.)

Overall, débiter is a versatile verb that is commonly used in everyday French conversation, particularly in the context of financial transactions.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai débité J’ai débité les légumes. I sliced the vegetables.
tu as débité Tu as débité le bois. You cut the wood.
il a débité Il a débité la viande. He cut the meat.
elle a débité Elle a débité le tissu. She cut the fabric.
on a débité On a débité les cartes. We dealt the cards.
nous avons débité Nous avons débité l’argent. We withdrew the money.
vous avez débité Vous avez débité les billets. You cut the tickets.
ils ont débité Ils ont débité les fruits. They cut the fruits.
elles ont débité Elles ont débité les feuilles. They cut the leaves.

Other Conjugations for Débiter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb débiter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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