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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb adjectiver

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The English translation of the French verb adjectiver is “to adjective.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “ah-deck-tee-vay.”

The word “adjectiver” comes from the Latin word “adjectivus,” meaning “added” or “adjective.” In everyday French, it is most often used to describe or modify a noun by adding an adjective. In the Subjonctif Passé tense, it is used to express a possibility or potential action that has already happened in the past.

Examples:

  1. J’aurais aimé qu’il ait adjectivé ma chemise. (I would have liked him to have adjectived my shirt.) This sentence expresses the speaker’s desire for someone to have described or modified their shirt in the past.
  2. Il est dommage que tu n’aies pas adjectivé ton discours. (It is a shame that you did not adjective your speech.) Here, the speaker is expressing regret that the other person did not add any descriptions or modifiers to their speech.
  3. Nous sommes heureux que vous ayez adjectivé nos photos. (We are happy that you adjective our photos.) In this sentence, the speaker is expressing their satisfaction that someone has added descriptions or modifications to their photos.

Table of the Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of adjectiver

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie adjectivé Je doute que j’aie adjectivé cette chose. I doubt that I adjectivized this thing.
tu aies adjectivé Il faut que tu aies adjectivé ce livre. You must have adjectivized this book.
il ait adjectivé Il est possible qu’il ait adjectivé cette voiture. It’s possible he adjectivized this car.
elle ait adjectivé Elle craint qu’elle ait adjectivé cet endroit. She fears she adjectivized this place.
on ait adjectivé On veut qu’on ait adjectivé cette maison. We want it to have been adjectivized.
nous ayons adjectivé Espérons que nous ayons adjectivé ces objets. Let’s hope we adjectivized these objects.
vous ayez adjectivé Il est important que vous ayez adjectivé cette situation. It’s important that you adjectivized this situation.
ils aient adjectivé Ils doutent qu’ils aient adjectivé ces personnes. They doubt they adjectivized these people.
elles aient adjectivé Elles préfèrent qu’elles aient adjectivé ces vêtements. They prefer they adjectivized these clothes.

Other Conjugations for Adjectiver.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb adjectiver
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb adjectiver     (this article)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Adjectiver – About the French Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense

The French Subjonctif Passé is a verb tense used to express actions or states that are uncertain, hypothetical, or dependent on some condition in the past. It’s often used in conjunction with the main verb in the present or future tense to convey various nuances of doubt, desire, necessity, or emotion.

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

Formation of the Subjonctif Passé

To form the Subjonctif Passé, you generally need to start with the third person plural (ils/elles) form of the passé composé (a compound past tense). Then, drop the subject and replace it with the appropriate Subjonctif endings. The endings are the same for regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs:

   – For -er verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent
   – For -ir verbs: -isse, -isses, -ît, -issions, -issiez, -issent
   – For -re verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent

For example, if you have the verb “parler” (to speak) in the third person plural passé composé, which is “ils ont parlé” (they spoke), the Subjonctif Passé form would be “qu’ils aient parlé” (that they spoke).

Everyday Usage Patterns

The Subjonctif Passé is commonly used in various situations:

– Expressing doubt or uncertainty: It’s used when you’re not certain about the completion of an action in the past. For example, “Je doute qu’il ait mangé” (I doubt that he ate).

– Desires and preferences: When you want or wish for something to have happened in the past. For instance, “Je préfère que tu aies réussi” (I prefer that you have succeeded).

– Expressing emotions: To convey emotions or feelings related to past actions or events. For example, “Il est content que nous ayons gagné” (He is happy that we won).

– Hypothetical situations: When discussing hypothetical or unreal past situations. For example, “Si j’avais su, j’aurais souhaité qu’ils aient été là” (If I had known, I would have wished they had been there).

Interactions with Other Tenses

The Subjonctif Passé often interacts with other tenses to convey specific meanings:

Present tense

It’s commonly used after expressions of doubt, desire, necessity, or emotion in the present. For example, “Il faut que tu aies fini” (You must have finished).

Future tense

It’s used in the future for hypothetical or unreal actions in the past when the main clause is in the future. For example, “Je douterai qu’ils aient terminé demain” (I will doubt that they have finished tomorrow).

Conditional

When the main clause is in the conditional, the Subjonctif Passé can be used to express unreal or hypothetical actions in the past. For instance, “Il voudrait que nous ayons réussi” (He would like us to have succeeded).

Summary

The Subjonctif Passé is a versatile tense used in French to convey uncertainty, doubt, desire, or hypothetical situations related to past actions. It is used in various everyday contexts and interacts with other tenses to express specific nuances in the language.

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