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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb démailler

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The English translation of the French verb démailler is “to unravel” or “to untangle”. It is pronounced “day-may-yay” in its infinitive form.

Démailler comes from the French prefix “dé-” meaning “undo” and the verb “mailler” meaning “to mesh” or “to entangle”. It is most often used in everyday French in the Subjonctif Passé tense, which is a literary tense used to express actions that have already happened but are uncertain or hypothetical.

Some examples of démailler in the Subjonctif Passé tense are:

  1. Il est temps que tu aies démaillé tes problèmes et que tu avances dans la vie. (It is time for you to have unraveled your problems and move on in life.)

  2. J’espère qu’elle ait démaillé les fils avant de tricoter. (I hope she unraveled the threads before knitting.)

  3. Nous aurions aimé que vous ayez démaillé vos pensées avant d’agir. (We would have liked you to have untangled your thoughts before acting.)

  4. It’s time for you to unravel your problems and move on in life.

  5. I hope she unraveled the threads before knitting.

  6. We would have liked you to have untangled your thoughts before acting.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Démailler.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb démailler
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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