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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décimer

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The English translation of décimer is “to decimate.” It is pronounced as “day-see-may” in the infinitive form.

The word décimer comes from the Latin word “decimare” which means to take a tenth or to kill one out of every ten. It was used in the Roman army as a form of punishment where one out of every ten soldiers would be killed.

In modern-day French, décimer is most often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense. This tense is used to express an action that may have happened in the past but did not actually occur.

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

  1. Il faut que nous ayons décimé cette armée. (It is necessary that we have decimated this army.)
  2. J’aurais aimé que tu aies décimé ces mauvaises herbes dans le jardin. (I would have liked for you to have decimated these weeds in the garden.)
  3. Il est possible qu’ils aient décimé les populations autochtones. (It is possible that they have decimated the indigenous populations.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Décimer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décimer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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