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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décarcasser

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The English translation of the French verb décarcasser is “to rack one’s brains/to make an effort.” It is pronounced as “day-kar-ka-say” in its infinitive form.

Décarcasser comes from the French word carcasse, which means “body” or “framework.” It is derived from the Latin word caro, meaning “flesh.” Therefore, the original meaning of décarcasser is “to break or dismember a body or framework.”

In everyday French, décarcasser is most commonly used in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) tense to indicate an action that has been completed in the past. Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense, with the respective English translations:

  1. J’ai décarcassé pour trouver une solution à ce problème. (I racked my brains to find a solution to this problem.)
  2. Nous nous sommes décarcassés pour organiser une fête réussie. (We made an effort to organize a successful party.)
  3. Ils se sont décarcassés pour terminer le projet à temps. (They made an effort to finish the project on time.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je me suis décarcassé(e) Je me suis décarcassé pour finir le projet. I went out of my way to finish the project.
tu t’es décarcassé(e) Tu t’es décarcassé pour réussir l’examen. You worked hard to pass the exam.
il s’est décarcassé Il s’est décarcassé pour obtenir une promotion. He worked hard to get a promotion.
elle s’est décarcassée Elle s’est décarcassée pour organiser la fête. She went out of her way to organize the party.
on s’est décarcassé On s’est décarcassé pour trouver une solution. We worked hard to find a solution.
nous nous sommes décarcassés Nous nous sommes décarcassés pour nettoyer la maison. We worked hard to clean the house.
vous vous êtes décarcassés Vous vous êtes décarcassés pour aider vos amis. You went out of your way to help your friends.
ils se sont décarcassés Ils se sont décarcassés pour réparer la voiture. They worked hard to fix the car.
elles se sont décarcassées Elles se sont décarcassées pour préparer le dîner. They went out of their way to prepare dinner.

Other Conjugations for Décarcasser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décarcasser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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