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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb embobiner

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The English translation of the French verb embobiner is “to deceive” or “to reel in” in the sense of manipulating or tricking someone.

The infinitive form of embobiner is pronounced as “ahm-boh-bee-nay”.

The term embobiner comes from the word bobine, meaning “spool” or “reel”, and was originally used in the context of winding something onto a spool. Over time, it took on a figurative meaning of manipulating or twisting someone’s words or actions.

In everyday French, embobiner is most often used in the Subjonctif Passé tense, which is a literary or formal tense used to express a hypothetical or uncertain action in the past.

Three examples of its usage in this tense are:

  1. Il fallait que je l’embobine pour qu’il me donne de l’argent. (I had to deceive him in order for him to give me money.)

  2. Je regrette de l’avoir embobiné pour qu’il accepte de signer le contrat. (I regret manipulating him into signing the contract.)

  3. Elle m’a embobiné avec ses belles paroles et j’ai fini par lui faire confiance. (She reeled me in with her sweet words and I ended up trusting her.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aie embobiné Il faut que je l’aie embobiné. I must have fooled him.
tu aies embobiné Je préfère que tu aies embobiné. I prefer you fooled.
il ait embobiné Il a peur que tu aies embobiné. He’s scared you fooled.
elle ait embobiné Elle pense qu’elle ait embobiné. She thinks she fooled.
on ait embobiné On espère qu’on ait embobiné. We hope we fooled.
nous ayons embobiné Il vaut mieux que nous ayons embobiné. It’s better we fooled.
vous ayez embobiné Vous êtes sûr que vous ayez embobiné ? Are you sure you fooled?
ils aient embobiné Ils croient qu’ils aient embobiné. They believe they fooled.
elles aient embobiné Elles se doutent qu’elles aient embobiné. They suspect they fooled.

Other Conjugations for Embobiner.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb embobiner
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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