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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb bidouiller

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The English translation of the French verb bidouiller is “to tinker with” or “to fiddle with.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “bee-doo-yee.”

Bidouiller comes from the French word “bidouille,” which means a small makeshift object or a quick fix. It is most often used in colloquial speech, especially in the context of DIY or fixing something in an improvised way.

In the Subjonctif Passé tense, bidouiller is conjugated as “aie bidouillé” for the first person singular, “aies bidouillé” for the second person singular, “ait bidouillé” for the third person singular, “ayons bidouillé” for the first person plural, “ayez bidouillé” for the second person plural, and “aient bidouillé” for the third person plural.

Examples:

  1. J’espère que tu aies bidouillé le moteur de la voiture avant de reprendre la route. (I hope you tinkered with the car engine before hitting the road.)
  2. Il est possible qu’elle ait bidouillé les chiffres pour cacher ses erreurs. (It’s possible that she fiddled with the numbers to hide her mistakes.)
  3. Nous craignons qu’ils aient bidouillé le système de vote pour gagner l’élection. (We fear they tinkered with the voting system to win the election.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie bidouillé Il est possible que j’aie bidouillé. It’s possible I fiddled.
tu aies bidouillé Tu crois qu’il faut que tu aies bidouillé? Do you think you had to fiddle?
il ait bidouillé Il doute qu’il ait bidouillé. He doubts he fiddled.
elle ait bidouillé Elle n’est pas sûre qu’elle ait bidouillé. She’s not sure she fiddled.
on ait bidouillé On veut qu’on ait bidouillé. We want to have fiddled.
nous ayons bidouillé Nous espérons que nous ayons bidouillé. We hope we fiddled.
vous ayez bidouillé Il est important que vous ayez bidouillé. It’s important that you fiddled.
ils aient bidouillé Ils doutent qu’ils aient bidouillé. They doubt they fiddled.
elles aient bidouillé Elles préfèrent qu’elles aient bidouillé. They prefer they fiddled.

Other Conjugations for Bidouiller.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb bidouiller
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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