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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décérébrer

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The English translation of the French verb décérébrer is “to brainwash” or “to remove someone’s brain”. The infinitive form, décérébrer, is pronounced “day-seh-ray-bray”.

The word décérébrer comes from the French prefix “dé-” meaning “remove” and the word “cerveau” meaning “brain”. It is most often used in everyday French in the Subjonctif Passé tense, which is a past subjunctive tense used to express a hypothetical or uncertain action that occurred in the past.

Examples of décérébrer in the Subjonctif Passé tense:

  1. Il est possible que les propagandistes l’aient décérébré pour qu’il croie en leur idéologie. (It is possible that the propagandists brainwashed him to believe in their ideology.)

  2. Je doute qu’elle ait été décérébrée par ces vidéos extrémistes. (I doubt that she was brainwashed by those extremist videos.)

  3. Il est probable que les enfants aient été décérébrés par les enseignements de leur secte. (It is likely that the children were brainwashed by the teachings of their cult.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie décérébré Il est possible que j’aie décérébré. It’s possible that I have brainwashed.
tu aies décérébré Tu espères que tu aies décérébré. You hope that you have brainwashed.
il ait décérébré Il est peu probable qu’il ait décérébré. It’s unlikely he brainwashed.
elle ait décérébré Elle préfère qu’elle ait décérébré. She prefers she has brainwashed.
on ait décérébré On ne peut pas être sûr qu’on ait décérébré. We can’t be sure that we have brainwashed.
nous ayons décérébré Nous demandons que nous ayons décérébré. We demand that we have brainwashed.
vous ayez décérébré Vous êtes convaincu qu’avez décérébré. You are convinced that you have brainwashed.
ils aient décérébré Ils croient qu’ils aient décérébré. They believe they have brainwashed.
elles aient décérébré Elles se demandent si elles aient décérébré. They wonder if they have brainwashed.

Other Conjugations for Décérébrer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décérébrer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Décérébrer – 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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