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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb délainer

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The English translation of the French verb délainer is “to shear (a sheep)”. It is pronounced as “day-lay-nay”.

Délainer is derived from the Old French word “delaigner”, which means “to pluck” or “to strip”. Its root word is “laine”, which means “wool”. In everyday French, délainer is often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, which is a past tense used to express a hypothetical or imaginary action that occurred before another action in the past.

Here are three simple examples of délainer used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense with their English translations:

  1. J’aurais aimé que tu aies délainé ces moutons hier. (I wish you had sheared these sheep yesterday.)
  2. Il m’avait dit qu’il avait délainé toutes les brebis avant de partir. (He had told me that he had sheared all the ewes before leaving.)
  3. Nous aurions pu obtenir plus de laine si nous avions délainé les moutons plus tôt. (We could have gotten more wool if we had sheared the sheep earlier.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse délainé J’aurais aimé que je eusse délainé. I wish I had removed the wool from.
tu eusses délainé J’aurais aimé que tu eusses délainé. I wish you had removed the wool from.
il eût délainé J’aurais aimé qu’il eût délainé. I wish he had removed the wool from.
elle eût délainé J’aurais aimé qu’elle eût délainé. I wish she had removed the wool from.
on eût délainé J’aurais aimé qu’on eût délainé. I wish one had removed the wool from.
nous eussions délainé J’aurais aimé que nous eussions délainé. I wish we had removed the wool from.
vous eussiez délainé J’aurais aimé que vous eussiez délainé. I wish you had removed the wool from.
ils eussent délainé J’aurais aimé qu’ils eussent délainé. I wish they had removed the wool from.
elles eussent délainé J’aurais aimé qu’elles eussent délainé. I wish they had removed the wool from.

Other Conjugations for Délainer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb délainer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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