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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb congédier

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The English translation of congédier is “to dismiss” or “to fire.” It is pronounced as “kohn-zhey-dyey” in its infinitive form.

Congédier comes from the French word “congé,” meaning “leave” or “permission,” and the suffix “-ier,” which is used to form verbs. In everyday French, congédier is most often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense to express an action that could have happened in the past, but did not.

Examples of congédier in the Subjonctif Passé tense are:

  1. Il aurait fallu que je le congédie plus tôt. (I should have dismissed him earlier.)
  2. Nous aurions préféré qu’elle ne soit pas congédiée. (We would have preferred her not to be fired.)
  3. Il est possible qu’ils aient été congédiés à cause de leur mauvaise performance. (It is possible that they were dismissed because of their poor performance.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie congédié Il est possible que j’aie congédié. It’s possible I dismissed.
tu aies congédié Il faut que tu aies congédié ton employé. You must have dismissed your employee.
il ait congédié Il doute qu’il ait congédié son directeur. He doubts he dismissed his manager.
elle ait congédié Elle regrette qu’elle ait congédié son assistant. She regrets she dismissed her assistant.
on ait congédié On veut qu’on ait congédié le personnel. We want the staff to have been dismissed.
nous ayons congédié Nous espérons que nous ayons congédié le chef. We hope we dismissed the chef.
vous ayez congédié Vous devez vous assurer que vous ayez congédié les employés. You must make sure you dismissed the employees.
ils aient congédié Ils doutent qu’ils aient congédié les travailleurs. They doubt they dismissed the workers.
elles aient congédié Elles regrettent qu’elles aient congédié leurs employeurs. They regret they dismissed their employers.

Other Conjugations for Congédier.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb congédier
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Congédier – 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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