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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb dédommager

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The English translation of the French verb dédommager is “to compensate” or “to reimburse.” It is pronounced as “day-doh-mah-zhay” in its infinitive form.

Dédommager comes from the Old French word “de-,” meaning “to undo,” and “dommage,” meaning “damage.” It is most often used in everyday French to talk about compensating or reimbursing someone for a loss or damage they have suffered.

In the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, dédommager is used to express a hypothetical or unreal action that occurred before another past action or event. It is formed by conjugating the auxiliary verb “avoir” in the Subjonctif Imparfait tense followed by the past participle of dédommager.

Three simple examples of dédommager in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense are:

  1. Si j’avais gagné à la loterie, j’aurais dédommagé tous mes amis. (If I had won the lottery, I would have compensated all my friends.)

  2. Elle aurait dû nous dédommager pour le retard de livraison. (She should have compensated us for the delivery delay.)

  3. Il aurait fallu qu’ils aient dédommagé la victime pour les dommages causés. (They should have compensated the victim for the damages caused.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse dédommagé Il aurait mieux valu que je eusse dédommagé les victimes. It would have been better if I had compensated the victims.
tu eusses dédommagé J’aurais souhaité que tu eusses dédommagé les travailleurs lésés. I wish you had compensated the injured workers.
il eût dédommagé Le juge aurait préféré qu’il eût dédommagé les plaignants. The judge would have preferred him to have compensated the plaintiffs.
elle eût dédommagé La compagnie aurait dû exiger qu’elle eût dédommagé ses clients. The company should have demanded that she had compensated her clients.
on eût dédommagé On aurait apprécié qu’il eût dédommagé les clients insatisfaits. It would have been appreciated if he had compensated the dissatisfied customers.
nous eussions dédommagé Nous aurions voulu que nous eussions dédommagé les personnes concernées. We would have liked to have compensated those involved.
vous eussiez dédommagé J’aurais espéré que vous eussiez dédommagé les parties lésées. I would have hoped that you had compensated the injured parties.
ils eussent dédommagé Si seulement ils eussent dédommagé les victimes plus tôt. If only they had compensated the victims earlier.
elles eussent dédommagé J’aurais souhaité qu’elles eussent dédommagé les personnes affectées. I wish they had compensated the affected individuals.

Other Conjugations for Dédommager.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb dédommager
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dédommager – 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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