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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb marivauder

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The English translation of the French verb marivauder is “to marivauder,” which means to talk or behave in a flirtatious and witty manner. The infinitive form, marivauder, is pronounced as “mah-ree-voh-deh.”

The word marivauder comes from the name of French playwright and novelist Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux, who was known for his witty and flirtatious dialogue in his works. It is most often used in everyday French in the past tense, specifically the Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) tense, which indicates an action that was completed before another past action.

Here are three simple examples of marivauder in the Plus-que-parfait tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Je n’avais pas vu Pierre depuis longtemps, mais il avait toujours un don pour marivauder. (I hadn’t seen Pierre in a long time, but he still had a knack for marivauding.)

  2. Quand nous sommes arrivés au café, les deux amoureux avaient déjà marivaudé pendant des heures. (When we arrived at the café, the two lovers had already been marivauding for hours.)

  3. Elle m’avait dit que le dîner serait informel, mais elle avait quand même marivaudé avec tous les invités. (She had told me the dinner would be casual, but she still flirted with all the guests.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’avais marivaudé J’avais marivaudé avec elle. I had flirted with her.
tu tu avais marivaudé Tu avais marivaudé avec lui. You had flirted with him.
il il avait marivaudé Il avait marivaudé avec elles. He had flirted with them.
elle elle avait marivaudé Elle avait marivaudé avec eux. She had flirted with them.
on on avait marivaudé On avait marivaudé avec nous. One had flirted with us.
nous nous avions marivaudé Nous avions marivaudé avec vous. We had flirted with you.
vous vous aviez marivaudé Vous aviez marivaudé avec elles. You had flirted with them.
ils ils avaient marivaudé Ils avaient marivaudé avec elle. They had flirted with her.
elles elles avaient marivaudé Elles avaient marivaudé avec lui. They had flirted with him.

Other Conjugations for Marivauder.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb marivauder
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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