Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contre-murer

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The English translation of the French verb contre-murer is “to barricade” or “to wall up.” It is pronounced “kohn-truh-myuh-ray” in its infinitive form.

The word contre-murer comes from the Old French word “murer,” meaning “to wall up.” The prefix “contre-” means “against,” giving the verb a sense of action taken in opposition to something.

In everyday French, contre-murer is most often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense to express a past action that is uncertain or hypothetical. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Subjonctif Présent followed by the past participle of contre-murer.

Examples:

  1. Il est urgent que nous ayons contre-muré toutes les portes avant la tempête. (It is urgent that we barricade all the doors before the storm.)
  2. J’aimerais que vous ayez contre-muré cette fenêtre pour plus de sécurité. (I would like you to wall up this window for more security.)
  3. Nous ne savons pas si le château a été contre-muré pendant la guerre. (We don’t know if the castle was walled up during the war.)

Table of the Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of contre-murer

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie contremuré Il est possible que j’aie contremuré. It’s possible that I counter-walled.
tu aies contremuré Tu doutes que tu aies contremuré. You doubt that you counter-walled.
il ait contremuré Il est important qu’il ait contremuré. It’s important that he counter-walled.
elle ait contremuré Elle préfère qu’elle ait contremuré. She prefers that she counter-walled.
on ait contremuré On veut qu’on ait contremuré. We want it to have been counter-walled.
nous ayons contremuré Il est possible que nous ayons contremuré. It’s possible that we counter-walled.
vous ayez contremuré Vous craignez qu’vous ayez contremuré. You fear that you counter-walled.
ils aient contremuré Ils espèrent qu’ils aient contremuré. They hope that they counter-walled.
elles aient contremuré Elles doutent qu’elles aient contremuré. They doubt that they counter-walled.

Other Conjugations for Contre-Murer.

   
    Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

    Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

    Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

    Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

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

    Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

    Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

    Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer     (this article)

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

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

    Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer
   

    Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

    L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-murer

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

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Contre-Murer – 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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