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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb déshabituer

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The English translation of the French verb déshabituer is “to unaccustom” or “to break a habit.”

In its infinitive form, déshabituer is pronounced “day-zah-bee-too-ay.”

Déshabituer comes from the French prefix “dés-” meaning “un-” or “dis-” and the verb “habituer” meaning “to accustom.” It is most often used in everyday French to describe the act of breaking a habit or becoming unaccustomed to something.

In the Plus-que-parfait tense, déshabituer is used to talk about a past action that occurred before another past action. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Imparfait tense followed by the past participle of déshabituer.

Here are three examples of déshabituer in the Plus-que-parfait tense with their English translations:

  1. J’avais déshabitué mes enfants à manger des bonbons avant de se coucher. (I had broken my children’s habit of eating candy before bedtime.)
  2. Tu avais déshabitué ton chien à sauter sur les invités avant l’arrivée de ta famille. (You had unaccustomed your dog from jumping on guests before your family arrived.)
  3. Elle était déshabituée de fumer depuis plusieurs années avant de reprendre cette mauvaise habitude. (She had stopped smoking for several years before picking up this bad habit again.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’avais désabitué J’avais désabitué mon chien à aboyer. I had unaccustomed my dog to barking.
tu tu avais désabitué Tu avais désabitué ton chat à sortir. You had unaccustomed your cat to going out.
il il avait désabitué Il avait désabitué son enfant à manger des bonbons. He had unaccustomed his child to eating candies.
elle elle avait désabitué Elle avait désabitué son élève à tricher. She had unaccustomed her student to cheating.
on on avait désabitué On avait désabitué le chien du voisin à sauter. One had unaccustomed the neighbor’s dog to jumping.
nous nous avions désabitué Nous avions désabitué le bébé à dormir dans nos bras. We had unaccustomed the baby to sleeping in our arms.
vous vous aviez désabitué Vous aviez désabitué le chat à griffer les meubles. You had unaccustomed the cat to scratching the furniture.
ils ils avaient désabitué Ils avaient désabitué leurs enfants à regarder la télévision. They had unaccustomed their children to watching television.
elles elles avaient désabitué Elles avaient désabitué les enfants à manger des sucreries. They had unaccustomed the children to eating sweets.

Other Conjugations for Déshabituer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb déshabituer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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