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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb affoler

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The English translation of the French verb affoler is “to panic” or “to drive crazy.” It is pronounced as [a.fɔ.le] in its infinitive form.

The language origin of affoler can be traced back to the Old French word afoler, which is derived from the Latin word follis meaning “bellows” or “windbag.” It first appeared in the 12th century and has evolved to its current meaning of “to panic.”

In everyday French, affoler is most often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense to express a past possibility or hypothetical situation. It is typically used after certain trigger words or phrases, such as “il est possible que” (it is possible that) or “je doute que” (I doubt that).

Here are three simple examples of affoler used in the Subjonctif Passé tense:

  1. Il est possible que sa réaction ait affolé les autres étudiants. (It is possible that his reaction panicked the other students.)
  2. Je doute que cette nouvelle ait affolé les marchés financiers. (I doubt that this news panicked the financial markets.)
  3. Il est improbable que nos actions aient affolé la bourse. (It is unlikely that our actions panicked the stock market.)

In each of these examples, the Subjonctif Passé form of affoler is used to express a past possibility or hypothetical situation. The English translations also use the past tense to convey a similar meaning.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie affolé Je ne crois pas que j’aie affolé. I don’t think I panicked.
tu aies affolé Il faut que tu aies affolé. You must have panicked.
il ait affolé Il est possible qu’il ait affolé. It’s possible he panicked.
elle ait affolé Elle craint qu’elle ait affolé. She fears she panicked.
on ait affolé On veut qu’on ait affolé. We want it to have been panicked.
nous ayons affolé Espérons que nous ayons affolé. Let’s hope we panicked.
vous ayez affolé Il est important que vous ayez affolé. It’s important that you panicked.
ils aient affolé Ils doutent qu’ils aient affolé. They doubt they panicked.
elles aient affolé Elles préfèrent qu’elles aient affolé. They prefer they panicked.

Other Conjugations for Affoler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affoler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Affoler – 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.

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

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