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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb découcher

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The English translation of the French verb découcher is “to spend the night away from home” or “to not stay at home for the night.” The infinitive form, découcher, is pronounced as “day-coo-shay.”

The word découcher is derived from the combination of the prefix “dé-” which means “away” and the verb “coucher” which means “to sleep.” It originated from the Latin word “collocare” which means “to spend the night.”

In everyday French, découcher is most often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense, which is used to express actions that may have taken place in the past, but are uncertain or hypothetical. It is often used after verbs such as “vouloir,” “espérer,” or “penser.”

Three simple examples of découcher in the Subjonctif Passé tense are:

  1. Je doute qu’elle ait découché cette nuit. (I doubt that she spent the night away from home.)

  2. Il est possible qu’ils aient découché hier soir. (It is possible that they didn’t stay at home for the night yesterday.)

  3. Nous voulions qu’elle ait découché pour une fois. (We wanted her to spend the night away from home for once.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie découché Il faut que j’aie découché. I must have stayed out.
tu aies découché Il est nécessaire que tu aies découché. It’s necessary that you stayed out.
il ait découché Il est possible qu’il ait découché. It’s possible he stayed out.
elle ait découché Elle doute qu’elle ait découché. She doubts she stayed out.
on ait découché On veut qu’on ait découché. We want it to have been stayed out.
nous ayons découché Nous préférons que nous ayons découché. We prefer we stayed out.
vous ayez découché Il faut que vous ayez découché. It’s necessary that you stayed out.
ils aient découché Ils doutent qu’ils aient découché. They doubt they stayed out.
elles aient découché Elles craignent qu’elles aient découché. They fear they stayed out.

Other Conjugations for Découcher.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb découcher
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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