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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb confronter

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The English translation of the French verb confronter is “to confront” or “to face”.

The infinitive form of confronter is pronounced as “kohn-frohn-teh”.

Confronter comes from the Latin word “confrontare” which means “to bring together, to compare”. It entered the French language in the 14th century.

In everyday French, confronter is most often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, which expresses a past action or situation that did not happen. It is often used in hypothetical or uncertain situations.

Examples of confronter in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense are:

  1. Si j’avais su, je t’aurais confronté à la vérité. (If I had known, I would have confronted you with the truth.)
  2. Il aurait mieux valu que tu ne l’aies pas confronté à son père. (It would have been better if you hadn’t confronted him with his father.)
  3. Nous aurions dû les confronter avant de prendre une décision. (We should have confronted them before making a decision.)

English translations:

  1. If I had known, I would have confronted you with the truth.
  2. It would have been better if you hadn’t confronted him with his father.
  3. We should have confronted them before making a decision.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse confronté J’aurais aimé que je eusse confronté avec lui. I wish I had confronted him.
tu eusses confronté J’aurais aimé que tu eusses confronté avec elle. I wish you had confronted her.
il eût confronté J’aurais aimé qu’il eût confronté avec elle. I wish he had confronted her.
elle eût confronté J’aurais aimé qu’elle eût confronté avec lui. I wish she had confronted him.
on eût confronté J’aurais aimé qu’on eût confronté avec eux. I wish one had confronted them.
nous eussions confronté J’aurais aimé que nous eussions confronté avec eux. I wish we had confronted them.
vous eussiez confronté J’aurais aimé que vous eussiez confronté avec elles. I wish you had confronted them.
ils eussent confronté J’aurais aimé qu’ils eussent confronté avec elles. I wish they had confronted them.
elles eussent confronté J’aurais aimé qu’elles eussent confronté avec eux. I wish they had confronted them.

Other Conjugations for Confronter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb confronter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Confronter – 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.

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