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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb délicoter

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The English translation of the French verb délicoter is “to unravel” or “to unthread.” It is pronounced as “day-lee-koh-tay” in its infinitive form.

Délicoter comes from the French word “lacet” which means lace or thread, and the prefix “dé-” which indicates a complete action or movement. It is most often used in everyday French in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, which is the past subjunctive tense. This tense is used to express an action that took place before another past action.

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

  1. J’espérais que tu aies délicoté le fil avant de coudre. (I was hoping that you had unraveled the thread before sewing.)
  2. Il était surpris que je n’eusse pas délicoté les fils du tricot. (He was surprised that I had not unraveled the threads of the knitting.)
  3. Nous aurions aimé que vous eussiez délicoté les lacets avant de les jeter. (We would have liked it if you had unraveled the shoelaces before throwing them away.)

In these examples, délicoter is used in the past tense and in a hypothetical or uncertain context, which is why the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense is used. Its meaning of unraveling or unthreading is applied to different objects such as thread, knitting, and shoelaces. The English translations also use the past perfect tense to express the same time frame as the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait in French.

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

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

Other Conjugations for Délicoter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb délicoter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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