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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb embêter

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The English translation of the French verb embêter is “to bother” or “to annoy.” It is pronounced as ahm-bay-tay.

The language origin of embêter is uncertain. It is believed to come from the Old French word embeter, meaning “to embarrass” or “to vex.” Over time, the meaning evolved to its current form of “to bother.”

In everyday French, embêter is most often used in its subjonctif passé tense, which is used to express a possibility, wish, or doubt about a past action. It is formed by using the subjunctive form of the auxiliary verb avoir or être, followed by the past participle of embêter (embêté).

Three simple examples of its usage in this tense are:

  1. Il faut que j’aie embêté mes voisins avec ma musique hier soir. (I must have bothered my neighbors with my music last night.)
  2. Je doute que tu aies embêté tes amis pendant la soirée. (I doubt that you bothered your friends during the evening.)
  3. Il est possible qu’il ait embêté sa sœur pour obtenir le jouet. (It’s possible that he bothered his sister to get the toy.)

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

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

Other Conjugations for Embêter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb embêter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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