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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb défouler

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The English translation of the French verb défouler is “to let off steam” or “to unwind”. It is pronounced as “deh-foo-lay” in its infinitive form.

The word défouler comes from the French prefix “dé-“, meaning “down” or “away”, and the verb “fouler”, meaning “to trample” or “to tread”. Together, they suggest the idea of releasing or getting rid of something, similar to how one might trample on something to get rid of it.

In everyday French, défouler is most often used in the Passé Composé tense, which is the equivalent of the English Present Perfect tense. This tense is used to talk about past actions or events that have a connection to the present.

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

  1. J’ai défoulé ma colère sur mon oreiller. (I let off my anger on my pillow.)

  2. Nous nous sommes défoulés en dansant toute la nuit. (We let off steam by dancing all night.)

  3. Elle s’est défoulée en criant dans la forêt. (She let off steam by screaming in the forest.)

In these examples, défouler is used to express the idea of releasing or getting rid of negative emotions or stress. This verb is often used in a reflexive form, as seen in the second and third examples, where the subject is also the object of the action.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je me suis défoulé(e) Je me suis défoulé(e) sur un punching-ball. I let off steam on a punching bag.
tu t’es défoulé(e) Tu t’es défoulé(e) en jouant au basket. You let off steam by playing basketball.
il s’est défoulé Il s’est défoulé au parc. He let off steam at the park.
elle s’est défoulée Elle s’est défoulée en dansant. She let off steam by dancing.
on s’est défoulé On s’est défoulé en criant. We let off steam by screaming.
nous nous sommes défoulés Nous nous sommes défoulés à la plage. We let off steam at the beach.
vous vous êtes défoulés Vous vous êtes défoulés en faisant du sport. You let off steam by doing sports.
ils se sont défoulés Ils se sont défoulés en faisant du shopping. They let off steam by shopping.
elles se sont défoulées Elles se sont défoulées en peignant. They let off steam by painting.

Other Conjugations for Défouler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb défouler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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