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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb débrailler

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The English translation of the French verb débrailler is “to unbutton” or “to unfasten.” The infinitive form, débrailler, is pronounced as “day-bra-yer.”

The word débrailler comes from the French word “brailler,” meaning “to shout” or “to cry.” It is most often used in every day French in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) tense, which is formed with the auxiliary verb avoir or être and the past participle of débrailler, which is débraillé.

Here are three simple examples of how débrailler is used in the Passé Composé tense:

  1. J’ai débraillé ma chemise avant de me coucher. (I unbuttoned my shirt before going to bed.)
  2. Elle s’est débraillée rapidement après le travail. (She quickly unfastened her clothes after work.)
  3. Nous avons débraillé nos vestes pour nous détendre. (We unbuttoned our jackets to relax.)

In all of these examples, débrailler is used to describe the action of unfastening or unbuttoning something. It can refer to unbuttoning clothes, undoing a strap, or opening a fastener.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai débraillé J’ai débraillé ma chemise. I unbuttoned my shirt.
tu as débraillé Tu as débraillé ta ceinture. You unfastened your belt.
il a débraillé Il a débraillé son pantalon. He unfastened his pants.
elle a débraillé Elle a débraillé sa robe. She unbuttoned her dress.
on a débraillé On a débraillé sa cravate. We untied his tie.
nous avons débraillé Nous avons débraillé nos vestes. We unbuttoned our jackets.
vous avez débraillé Vous avez débraillé vos chaussures. You unfastened your shoes.
ils ont débraillé Ils ont débraillé leurs chemises. They unbuttoned their shirts.
elles ont débraillé Elles ont débraillé leurs robes. They unbuttoned their dresses.

Other Conjugations for Débrailler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb débrailler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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