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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décartonner

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The English translation of the French verb décartonner is “to unpack” or “to take out of a box”. The infinitive form of décartonner is pronounced as “day-kar-taw-nay”.

Décartonner comes from the French words “dé” which means “to undo” and “carton” which means “cardboard box”. It is most often used in everyday French in the plus-que-parfait tense, which is the past tense used to express an action that was completed before another action in the past.

Example 1: J’avais décartonné toutes les affaires avant que mes amis arrivent. (I had unpacked all the stuff before my friends arrived.)

Example 2: Elle avait décartonné les décorations de Noël avant de mettre le sapin dans le salon. (She had unpacked the Christmas decorations before putting the tree in the living room.)

Example 3: Nous avions déjà décartonné tous les cadeaux avant que les invités n’arrivent. (We had already unpacked all the gifts before the guests arrived.)

In all three examples, the plus-que-parfait tense is used to indicate that the action of unpacking was completed before another action in the past (the arrival of friends, putting up the Christmas tree, and the arrival of guests). The use of décartonner in this tense is common when talking about completing tasks or preparations before a specific event or action.

Table of the Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of décartonner

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’avais décartonné J’avais décartonné les affaires. I had unpacked the belongings.
tu tu avais décartonné Tu avais décartonné les cartons. You had unpacked the boxes.
il il avait décartonné Il avait décartonné les livres. He had unpacked the books.
elle elle avait décartonné Elle avait décartonné les vêtements. She had unpacked the clothes.
on on avait décartonné On avait décartonné les objets. One had unpacked the objects.
nous nous avions décartonné Nous avions décartonné les souvenirs. We had unpacked the memories.
vous vous aviez décartonné Vous aviez décartonné les décorations. You had unpacked the decorations.
ils ils avaient décartonné Ils avaient décartonné les jouets. They had unpacked the toys.
elles elles avaient décartonné Elles avaient décartonné les albums. They had unpacked the albums.

Other Conjugations for Décartonner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décartonner
   

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

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

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

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

    Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décartonner     (this article)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Décartonner – About the French Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense

The French “plus-que-parfait” tense is a past tense used to express actions or events that occurred before another past action or event. It is often translated to English as the “pluperfect” tense. The name “plus-que-parfait” literally means “more than perfect,” indicating that it is a tense used to describe actions that were completed before a specific point in the past.
NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Tense Formation

To form the plus-que-parfait tense, you typically use the auxiliary verb “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be) in the imperfect tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. Here are the conjugations for both auxiliary verbs:
1. With “avoir” as the auxiliary verb:
   – J’avais mangé (I had eaten)
   – Tu avais parlé (You had spoken)
   – Il/elle/on avait fini (He/She/One had finished)
   – Nous avions lu (We had read)
   – Vous aviez choisi (You had chosen)
   – Ils/elles avaient joué (They had played)
2. With “être” as the auxiliary verb (usually for intransitive verbs or verbs indicating a state):
   – J’étais parti(e) (I had left)
   – Tu étais arrivé(e) (You had arrived)
   – Il/elle/on était tombé(e) (He/She/One had fallen)
   – Nous étions resté(e)s (We had stayed)
   – Vous étiez né(e)(s) (You had been born)
   – Ils/elles étaient monté(e)s (They had gone up)

Common everyday usage patterns

Sequencing of past events

The plus-que-parfait is used to express a past action that happened before another past action. For example, “J’avais mangé avant qu’il ne soit arrivé” (I had eaten before he arrived).

Background information

It is also used to provide background information or set the stage for a main past event. For instance, “Quand je suis arrivé, ils avaient déjà fini de manger” (When I arrived, they had already finished eating).

Hypothetical or reported speech

In indirect speech, the plus-que-parfait is used to report what someone had said or thought in the past. For example, “Il avait dit qu’il viendrait demain” (He had said that he would come tomorrow).

Interactions with other tenses

– The plus-que-parfait is often used in conjunction with the passé composé (simple past) to establish the sequence of past events. The passé composé describes the more recent action, while the plus-que-parfait describes the action that occurred earlier.
– It can also be used with the conditional mood to express a hypothetical past event, like “Si j’avais su, j’aurais agi différemment” (If I had known, I would have acted differently).
– When used in reported speech, it can be combined with the conditional mood or the imperfect subjunctive to reflect the original mood and tense of the reported statement.

Summary

The French plus-que-parfait tense is an essential part of the language for expressing past actions that occurred before other past actions, providing background information, and reporting past statements or thoughts. It is an integral component of constructing complex and accurate narratives in French.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb décartonner. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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