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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décentrer

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The English translation of the French verb décentrer is “to decentralize” or “to move away from the center.” It is pronounced as “day-sahn-tray.”

Décentrer comes from the word “centre” in Old French, which means “center.” It is most often used in everyday French to describe the act of moving something away from its central position or to distribute power and authority more evenly.

In the Plus-que-parfait tense, décentrer is typically used to describe an action that had already happened in the past before another past event. Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense, with their respective English translations:

  1. J’avais décentré le vase avant que mon chat ne le fasse tomber. (I had moved the vase away from the center before my cat knocked it over.)
  2. L’entreprise avait décentré ses activités pour mieux répondre aux besoins des clients. (The company had decentralized its activities to better meet the needs of its customers.)
  3. Nous avions décentré notre discussion vers un sujet plus intéressant. (We had shifted our conversation away from the center towards a more interesting topic.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je m’étais décentré Je m’étais décentré du groupe. I had moved away from the group.
tu t’étais décentré Tu t’étais décentré de la droite. You had moved away from the right.
il s’était décentré Il s’était décentré de la table. He had moved away from the table.
elle s’était décentrée Elle s’était décentrée de la conversation. She had moved away from the conversation.
on s’était décentré On s’était décentré de la foule. One had moved away from the crowd.
nous nous étions décentrés Nous étions décentrés du centre. We had moved away from the center.
vous vous étiez décentrés Vous étiez décentrés du sujet. You had moved away from the subject.
ils s’étaient décentrés Ils s’étaient décentrés du problème. They had moved away from the problem.
elles s’étaient décentrées Elles s’étaient décentrées de la situation. They had moved away from the situation.

Other Conjugations for Décentrer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décentrer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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