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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb affréter

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The English translation of the French verb affréter is “to charter.” It is pronounced “ah-fray-tay.”

Affréter comes from the French word “frète,” meaning “tribute” or “freight,” and the prefix “a-“, which has a variety of meanings and is often used to create verbs.

In everyday French, affréter is most commonly used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, which expresses a hypothetical situation in the past. It is used when there is a main clause in the past tense and a subordinate clause with a past tense verb conjugated in the subjunctive mood.

Three simple examples of its usage in this tense are:

  1. J’avais affrété un bateau avant que la tempête n’arrive. (I had chartered a boat before the storm arrived.)
  2. Il était important qu’ils aient affrété un avion pour arriver à temps. (It was important that they had chartered a plane to arrive on time.)
  3. Nous aurions aimé que vous eussiez affrété un car pour le voyage. (We would have liked you to have chartered a bus for the trip.)

The English translations of these sentences use the past perfect and past perfect subjunctive tenses to convey the same hypothetical meaning.

Table of the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of affréter

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse affrété Si j’avais assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé que je eusse affrété un avion privé. If I had enough money, I wish I had chartered a private plane.
tu eusses affrété Si tu avais assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé que tu eusses affrété un avion privé. If you had enough money, I wish you had chartered a private plane.
il eût affrété Si il avait assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé qu’il eût affrété un avion privé. If he had enough money, I wish he had chartered a private plane.
elle eût affrété Si elle avait assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé qu’elle eût affrété un avion privé. If she had enough money, I wish she had chartered a private plane.
on eût affrété Si on avait assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé qu’on eût affrété un avion privé. If one had enough money, I wish one had chartered a private plane.
nous eussions affrété Si nous avions assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé que nous eussions affrété un avion privé. If we had enough money, I wish we had chartered a private plane.
vous eussiez affrété Si vous aviez assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé que vous eussiez affrété un avion privé. If you had enough money, I wish you had chartered a private plane.
ils eussent affrété Si ils avaient assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé qu’ils eussent affrété un avion privé. If they had enough money, I wish they had chartered a private plane.
elles eussent affrété Si elles avaient assez d’argent, j’aurais aimé qu’elles eussent affrété un avion privé. If they had enough money, I wish they had chartered a private plane.

Other Conjugations for Affréter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affréter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affréter
    (this article)

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

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Affréter – About the French Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense

The French Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait, also known as the Pluperfect Subjunctive, is a verb tense used to express actions or states that occurred before another action in the past, and it’s used in situations where the indicative mood is in the past subjunctive or conditional mood.
NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation

To form the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait, you start with the imperfect subjunctive form of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être,” followed by the past participle of the main verb. 
For “avoir” verbs: Take the imperfect subjunctive form of “avoir” (e.g., j’eusse, tu eusses, il/elle eût, nous eussions, vous eussiez, ils/elles eussent). Add the past participle of the main verb. 
For “être” verbs: Take the imperfect subjunctive form of “être” (e.g., je fusse, tu fusses, il/elle fût, nous fussions, vous fussiez, ils/elles fussent). Add the past participle of the main verb.

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

Hypothetical Situations

The Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait is often used to express hypothetical or unreal actions that occurred before another past action.
For example: J’aurais aimé que tu aies fini ton travail avant que je sois arrivé. (I would have liked for you to have finished your work before I arrived.) 

Reported Speech

In reported speech, you may use the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait to convey what someone said or thought in the past. 
For example: Il m’a dit qu’il avait peur que je n’aie pas compris. (He told me that he was afraid that I hadn’t understood.) 

Doubt, Wishes, and Emotions

This tense can also be used to express doubt, wishes, and emotions about past actions. 
For example: Je doutais qu’il eût dit la vérité. (I doubted that he had told the truth.) 
J’aurais souhaité que tu fusses venu. (I would have wished for you to have come.)

Interactions with Other Tenses

Present Subjunctive

The Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait can be used to describe past actions when the main verb is in the present subjunctive. 
For example: “Il faut que j’aie fini mon travail avant que tu partes.” (I must have finished my work before you leave.) 

Imperfect Subjunctive

It’s common to use the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait with the imperfect subjunctive in complex sentences. 
For example: “Il m’avait dit qu’il fût rentré avant la fin de la journée.” (He had told me that he had returned before the end of the day.) 

Conditional

When the main verb is in the conditional mood, the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait can be used to express past unreal conditions. 
For example: “Si j’avais su, j’aurais voulu que tu aies réussi.” (If I had known, I would have wanted you to have succeeded.)

Summary

The Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait is a complex tense used to convey nuanced meanings in French. While its usage may seem intricate, it becomes more intuitive with practice and exposure to the language. It’s important to understand the context in which it’s used, as it often conveys subtleties of time, conditionality, and emotion in French sentences.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb affréter. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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