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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb dépénaliser

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The English translation of the French verb dépénaliser is “to decriminalize.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “day-pen-ah-lee-zay.”

The word dépénaliser comes from the French prefix “dé-” meaning “to remove or undo” and the word “pénaliser” meaning “to penalize.” It is most often used in everyday French to describe the action of removing the criminal or penal aspect of something.

In the Passé Composé tense, dépénaliser is used to talk about a past action that has been decriminalized. Here are three examples of its usage in this tense:

  1. Le gouvernement a dépénalisé la consommation de marijuana. (The government decriminalized the consumption of marijuana.)
  2. La loi a dépénalisé l’avortement il y a plusieurs années. (The law decriminalized abortion many years ago.)
  3. Ils ont dépénalisé le stationnement dans cette zone. (They decriminalized parking in this area.)

In English, the verb dépénaliser can also be translated as “to legalize” or “to make legal.” However, it is important to note that these two words have slightly different meanings. Dépénaliser refers specifically to removing the criminal aspect, while “legalize” or “make legal” can also refer to the legalization of something that was previously not allowed.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai dépénalisé J’ai dépénalisé la possession de marijuana. I decriminalized the possession of marijuana.
tu as dépénalisé Tu as dépénalisé le stationnement en double file. You decriminalized double parking.
il a dépénalisé Il a dépénalisé la vente d’alcool au supermarché. He decriminalized the sale of alcohol at the supermarket.
elle a dépénalisé Elle a dépénalisé l’usage de la cigarette électronique. She decriminalized the use of electronic cigarettes.
on a dépénalisé On a dépénalisé la grève des transports en commun. We decriminalized public transportation strikes.
nous avons dépénalisé Nous avons dépénalisé le téléchargement illégal. We decriminalized illegal downloading.
vous avez dépénalisé Vous avez dépénalisé le commerce de la drogue douce. You decriminalized the trade of soft drugs.
ils ont dépénalisé Ils ont dépénalisé la possession de médicaments sans ordonnance. They decriminalized the possession of prescription drugs.
elles ont dépénalisé Elles ont dépénalisé la consommation de cannabis thérapeutique. They decriminalized the use of medical cannabis.

Other Conjugations for Dépénaliser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb dépénaliser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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