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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contrebalancer

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The English translation of the French verb contrebalancer is “to counterbalance” or “to offset.” It is pronounced “kohn-truh-bah-lahn-say” in its infinitive form.

The word contrebalancer comes from the French words contre, meaning “against,” and balancer, meaning “to balance.” It was first used in the 17th century and is most often used in formal or technical contexts.

In everyday French, contrebalancer is often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense, which is a compound tense formed with the auxiliary verb avoir or être and the past participle of the verb. This tense is used to express actions that took place before another action or state in the past.

Here are three examples of contrebalancer in the Subjonctif Passé tense with their respective English translations:

  1. Il est important que nous ayons contrebalancé nos dépenses avant de partir en vacances. (It is important that we have counterbalanced our expenses before going on vacation.)

  2. J’espère que tu aies contrebalancé tes erreurs avec des actions positives. (I hope that you have offset your mistakes with positive actions.)

  3. Il fallait qu’ils eussent contrebalancé leur influence négative sur le projet. (It was necessary for them to have counterbalanced their negative influence on the project.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie contrebalancé Je doute que j’aie contrebalancé. I doubt that I counterbalanced.
tu aies contrebalancé Il faut que tu aies contrebalancé. You must have counterbalanced.
il ait contrebalancé Il est possible qu’il ait contrebalancé. It’s possible he counterbalanced.
elle ait contrebalancé Elle craint qu’elle ait contrebalancé. She fears she counterbalanced.
on ait contrebalancé On veut qu’on ait contrebalancé. We want it to have been counterbalanced.
nous ayons contrebalancé Espérons que nous ayons contrebalancé. Let’s hope we counterbalanced.
vous ayez contrebalancé Il est important que vous ayez contrebalancé. It’s important that you counterbalanced.
ils aient contrebalancé Ils doutent qu’ils aient contrebalancé. They doubt they counterbalanced.
elles aient contrebalancé Elles préfèrent qu’elles aient contrebalancé. They prefer they counterbalanced.

Other Conjugations for Contrebalancer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contrebalancer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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