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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb cannibaliser

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The English translation of the French verb cannibaliser is “to cannibalize”. The infinitive form is pronounced as “kah-nee-bah-lee-zay”.

The word “cannibaliser” comes from the French word “cannibale”, which ultimately comes from the Spanish word “caníbal” and the Latin word “cannibalis”, meaning “eater of human flesh”. In everyday French, “cannibaliser” is most often used in a figurative sense to mean “to use parts of something to make or improve something else”.

In the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, “cannibaliser” is used to express a hypothetical action that would have occurred in the past. It is formed by using the helping verb “avoir” in the Subjonctif Imparfait tense before the past participle “cannibalisé”. Here are three examples of its usage in this tense with their English translations:

  1. Si j’avais suivi mes plans initiaux, j’aurais cannibalisé mon ancien projet pour créer celui-ci. (If I had followed my initial plans, I would have cannibalized my old project to create this one.)
  2. Il avait peur que ses idées soient cannibalisées par celles de son collègue. (He was afraid that his ideas would be cannibalized by his colleague’s.)
  3. Nous aurions pu éviter la faillite si nous n’avions pas cannibalisé nos ressources pour financer ce nouveau produit. (We could have avoided bankruptcy if we hadn’t cannibalized our resources to finance this new product.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange que je eusse cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if I had cannibalized.
tu eusses cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange que tu eusses cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if you had cannibalized.
il eût cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange qu’il eût cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if he had cannibalized.
elle eût cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange qu’elle eût cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if she had cannibalized.
on eût cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange qu’on eût cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if one had cannibalized.
nous eussions cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange que nous eussions cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if we had cannibalized.
vous eussiez cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange que vous eussiez cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if you had cannibalized.
ils eussent cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange qu’ils eussent cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if they had cannibalized.
elles eussent cannibalisé J’aurais trouvé ça étrange qu’elles eussent cannibalisé. I would have found it strange if they had cannibalized.

Other Conjugations for Cannibaliser.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb cannibaliser
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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