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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décimer

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The English translation of the French verb décimer is “to decimate.” The infinitive form of décimer is pronounced “de-see-may.”

The word décimer comes from the Latin word “decimus” meaning “one-tenth.” In its original usage, décimer referred to the act of killing one in every ten soldiers as a form of punishment or to reduce the size of an army. Over time, the meaning of the word has evolved to refer to any act of killing a large portion of a population or group.

In everyday French, décimer is most often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense to express a hypothetical or unreal action that took place in the past. This tense is formed by using the past subjunctive of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” followed by the past participle of décimer.

Examples:

  1. Il est possible que le virus ait décimé la population du village avant que l’aide n’arrive. (It’s possible that the virus decimated the population of the village before help arrived.)

  2. Si la peste noire avait décimé l’Europe au 14e siècle, l’histoire aurait été très différente. (If the Black Death had decimated Europe in the 14th century, history would have been very different.)

  3. J’aurais préféré que l’ouragan n’ait pas décimé notre ville et détruit nos maisons. (I would have preferred for the hurricane not to have decimated our city and destroyed our homes.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse décimé J’aurais aimé que je eusse décimé toutes les plantes. I wish I had decimated all the plants.
tu eusses décimé J’aurais aimé que tu eusses décimé toutes les plantes. I wish you had decimated all the plants.
il eût décimé J’aurais aimé qu’il eût décimé toutes les plantes. I wish he had decimated all the plants.
elle eût décimé J’aurais aimé qu’elle eût décimé toutes les plantes. I wish she had decimated all the plants.
on eût décimé J’aurais aimé qu’on eût décimé toutes les plantes. I wish one had decimated all the plants.
nous eussions décimé J’aurais aimé que nous eussions décimé toutes les plantes. I wish we had decimated all the plants.
vous eussiez décimé J’aurais aimé que vous eussiez décimé toutes les plantes. I wish you had decimated all the plants.
ils eussent décimé J’aurais aimé qu’ils eussent décimé toutes les plantes. I wish they had decimated all the plants.
elles eussent décimé J’aurais aimé qu’elles eussent décimé toutes les plantes. I wish they had decimated all the plants.

Other Conjugations for Décimer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décimer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Décimer – 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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