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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décavaillonner

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The English translation of the French verb décavaillonner is “to hill up” or “to earth up.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “day-kah-vee-yon-nay.”

Décavaillonner comes from the verb “cavaillonner,” which means “to hill” or “to earth up” in reference to agricultural practices. The prefix “dé-” intensifies the action, making décavaillonner mean a more vigorous or thorough way of hilling up the earth.

In everyday French, décavaillonner is most often used in the Plus-que-parfait tense, which is the past perfect tense in English. This tense is used to talk about an action that was completed before another past action. It is formed with the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the imperfect tense + the past participle of the main verb.

Here are three simple examples of décavaillonner in Plus-que-parfait tense:

  1. J’avais décavaillonné les plants de tomates avant qu’il ne commence à pleuvoir. (I had earthed up the tomato plants before it started raining.)

  2. Avant de semer les graines, elle avait décavaillonné le terrain pour les préparer. (Before sowing the seeds, she had hilled up the soil to prepare it.)

  3. Ils étaient fatigués car ils avaient décavaillonné toute la journée dans le champ. (They were tired because they had been hilling up all day in the field.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’avais décavaillonné J’avais décavaillonné le champ. I had plowed the field.
tu tu avais décavaillonné Tu avais décavaillonné la terre. You had plowed the earth.
il il avait décavaillonné Il avait décavaillonné le jardin. He had plowed the garden.
elle elle avait décavaillonné Elle avait décavaillonné le potager. She had plowed the vegetable garden.
on on avait décavaillonné On avait décavaillonné le terrain. One had plowed the land.
nous nous avions décavaillonné Nous avions décavaillonné le champ. We had plowed the field.
vous vous aviez décavaillonné Vous aviez décavaillonné le potager. You had plowed the vegetable garden.
ils ils avaient décavaillonné Ils avaient décavaillonné le terrain. They had plowed the land.
elles elles avaient décavaillonné Elles avaient décavaillonné la terre. They had plowed the earth.

Other Conjugations for Décavaillonner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décavaillonner
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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