Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) 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.” The infinitive form of captiver is pronounced “kahp-tee-vay.”

The word captiver comes from the Latin word “captivus” meaning “captive.” It entered the French language in the 12th century and has been used in everyday language ever since. In the Subjonctif Passé tense, captiver is used to express a hypothetical or uncertain action in the past.

Here are three examples of captiver in the Subjonctif Passé tense:

  1. J’espère que tu aies captivé le public avec ton spectacle. (I hope you captivated the audience with your show.)
  2. Il faut que nous ayons captivé leur attention pour qu’ils nous écoutent. (We needed to have captivated their attention for them to listen to us.)
  3. Il est dommage que le film n’ait pas captivé les critiques. (It’s a shame that the movie didn’t captivate the critics.)

In these examples, captiver is used in the Subjonctif Passé tense to express a desired or possible action in the past. In the first two sentences, the speaker expresses hope and necessity, while in the third sentence, the speaker expresses regret.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie captivé Je suis surprise que j’aie captivé personne. I’m surprised that I captivated no one.
tu aies captivé Je te conseille que tu aies captivé les spectateurs. I advise you to captivate the spectators.
il ait captivé Il se peut qu’il ait captivé l’audience. It’s possible he captivated the audience.
elle ait captivé Elle suggère qu’elle ait captivé le public. She suggests she captivated the public.
on ait captivé On veut qu’on ait captivé le lecteur. We want to have captivated the reader.
nous ayons captivé Je suis contente que nous ayons captivé les enfants. I’m glad we captivated the children.
vous ayez captivé Il faut que vous ayez captivé vos clients. You must have captivated your clients.
ils aient captivé Il est possible qu’ils aient captivé la foule. It’s possible they captivated the crowd.
elles aient captivé Elles sont tristes qu’elles aient captivé personne. They’re sad that they captivated no one.

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     (this article)

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

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

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