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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb démoucheter

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The English translation of the French verb démoucheter is “to uncork” or “to remove the cork.” It comes from the combination of the prefix “dé,” meaning “to undo or remove,” and the word “moucheter,” meaning “to cork.” It is pronounced as “day-moo-shuh-tay.”

In everyday French, démoucheter is most often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, which is used to express a hypothetical action that took place before another past action. This tense is formed with the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the Plus-que-parfait tense and the past participle of the verb.

Example 1: J’étais content qu’elle eût démoucheté la bouteille avant que je sois arrivé. (I was happy that she had uncorked the bottle before I arrived.)
Example 2: Il était important que tu eusses démoucheté le vin avant que nous soyons passés à table. (It was important that you had uncorked the wine before we sat down to eat.)
Example 3: Il fallait que nous eussions démoucheté toutes les bouteilles avant que la fête commence. (We had to have uncorked all the bottles before the party started.)

In these examples, the subjonctif plus-que-parfait tense is used to express the idea that the action of uncorking the bottle happened before the other past action (arriving, sitting down to eat, and the party starting).

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse démoucheté J’ai regretté que je eusse démoucheté si tard. I regretted that I had cleaned up so late.
tu eusses démoucheté J’aurais aimé que tu eusses démoucheté avant le coucher du soleil. I wish you had cleaned up before sunset.
il eût démoucheté L’artiste prétendait qu’il eût démoucheté pour son inspiration. The artist claimed he had cleaned up for his inspiration.
elle eût démoucheté Elle sourit soudainement, comme si elle eût démoucheté un souvenir. She suddenly smiled, as if she had cleaned up a memory.
on eût démoucheté J’aurais aimé qu’on eût démoucheté le jardin avant la fête. I wish we had cleaned up the garden before the party.
nous eussions démoucheté Nous avons cru que nous eussions démoucheté tout le désordre, mais il restait encore un peu de saleté. We thought we had cleaned up all the mess, but there was still some dirt left.
vous eussiez démoucheté J’aurais aimé que vous eussiez démoucheté les taches avant qu’elles ne s’incrustent. I wish you had cleaned up the stains before they set in.
ils eussent démoucheté Il prétendait qu’ils eussent démoucheté la maison avant l’arrivée de leurs invités. He claimed they had cleaned up the house before the arrival of their guests.
elles eussent démoucheté Les filles riaient, comme si elles eussent démoucheté un secret. The girls laughed, as if they had cleaned up a secret.

Other Conjugations for Démoucheter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb démoucheter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Struggling with French verbs or the language in general? Why not use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!
   

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Démoucheter – 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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