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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb captiver

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The English translation of the French verb captiver is “to captivate.” It is pronounced ka-tee-vay in its infinitive form.

The language origin of captiver comes from the Latin word “captivare,” meaning “to take captive.” In everyday French, captiver is most often used in the Subjonctif Imparfait tense, which is used to express a hypothetical or uncertain action in the past.

Here are three simple examples of captiver used in the Subjonctif Imparfait tense, with their respective English translations:

  1. Je souhaitais que tu me captives avec ton histoire. (I wished that you would captivate me with your story.)
  2. Il fallait qu’elle nous captivât avec ses talents de conteuse. (It was necessary for her to captivate us with her storytelling skills.)
  3. Nous rêvions qu’ils captivassent l’audience avec leur spectacle. (We dreamt that they would captivate the audience with their show.)

Table of the Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of captiver

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je captivasse Si j’avais le temps, je captivasse plus de personnes. If I had time, I would captivate more people.
tu captivasses Si tu t’entraînais plus, tu captivasses mieux. If you trained more, you would captivate better.
il captivât Il serait content si il captivât son public. He would be happy if he captivated his audience.
elle captivât Elle serait surprise si elle captivât facilement. She would be surprised if she captivated easily.
on captivât Si on captivât l’attention, on pourrait réussir. If one captivated attention, one could succeed.
nous captivassions Si nous captivassions notre auditoire, nous serions satisfaits. If we captivated our audience, we would be satisfied.
vous captivassiez Si vous captivassiez plus, vous gagneriez plus de fans. If you captivated more, you would gain more fans.
ils captivassent S’ils captivassent leur public, ils seraient célèbres. If they captivated their audience, they would be famous.
elles captivassent Si elles captivassent leur entourage, elles seraient admirées. If they captivated their surroundings, they would be admired.

Other Conjugations for Captiver.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb captiver
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb captiver (this article)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Captiver – About the French Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense

The French Subjonctif Imparfait, also known as the imperfect subjunctive, is a verb tense used to express actions, states, or conditions that are uncertain, subjective, or hypothetical in the past. It is used in a variety of situations, including wishes, doubts, emotions, and polite requests, and often occurs in dependent clauses following certain expressions and conjunctions.

NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation

To form the Subjonctif Imparfait, you typically start with the third person plural (ils/elles) form of the verb in the imparfait (imperfect) tense. Then, you remove the -ent ending and add the appropriate endings:

– For regular -er verbs: je -sse, tu -sses, il/elle/on -t, nous -ssions, vous -ssiez, ils/elles -ssent.
– For regular -ir and -re verbs: je -sse, tu -sses, il/elle/on -t, nous -ssions, vous -ssiez, ils/elles -ssent.

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

1. Expressing Doubt or Uncertainty: The Subjonctif Imparfait is used to express doubt or uncertainty about something that happened in the past.

Example: Il doutait qu’elle vînt à la fête. (He doubted that she came to the party.)

2. Wishes and Desires: It is used to express wishes or desires in the past.

Example: J’aurais aimé que tu fusses là. (I would have liked you to be there.)

3. Hypothetical Scenarios: The Subjonctif Imparfait is employed in hypothetical situations in the past.

Example: Si j’eusse su, j’aurais agi différemment. (If I had known, I would have acted differently.)
4. Polite Requests and Suggestions: It is used to make polite requests and suggestions in a formal or polite tone.

Example: Il souhaitait que vous vinssiez lui rendre visite. (He wished that you would come to visit him.)

Interactions with Other Tenses

Subjonctif Présent

The Subjonctif Imparfait is often used in dependent clauses with the Subjonctif Présent in the main clause, especially in complex sentences.

Example: Il faut que tu manges bien pour que tu aies de l’énergie. (You need to eat well so that you have energy.)

Indicatif Passé Composé

The Subjonctif Imparfait can be used alongside the Indicatif Passé Composé to indicate a contrast between a factual event and a hypothetical one.

Example: Il est parti avant que tu ne fusses arrivé. (He left before you arrived.)

Conditional

The Subjonctif Imparfait is often used with the Conditional to express unreal or hypothetical situations in the past.

Example: J’aurais pu le faire si j’eusse eu plus de temps. (I could have done it if I had had more time.)

Conditional Perfect

It can also be used with the Conditional Perfect to express unreal or hypothetical past events that would have occurred before other past events.

Example: J’aurais su s’il eût partagé l’information. (I would have known if he had shared the information.)

Summary

The Subjonctif Imparfait is a relatively complex tense, and its usage depends on the context and the verbs involved. It is essential to practice and become familiar with common expressions and contexts where this tense is appropriate to use it effectively in everyday French communication.

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

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