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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb désemmancher

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The English translation of the French verb désemmancher is “to remove the handle” or “to take off the handle”. It is pronounced as “day-seh-man-shay”.

Désemmancher is a compound verb, consisting of the prefix “dés-” meaning “remove” and the verb “emmancher” meaning “to put a handle on”. It is derived from the Latin word “manica” meaning “handle” and the prefix “de-” meaning “down” or “away”. In everyday French, désemmancher is most often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense to express a past action or possibility that did not happen.

Examples of désemmancher in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense:

  1. J’aurais aimé que tu aies désemmanché le couteau avant de le ranger. (I wish you had removed the knife handle before putting it away.)
  2. Il aurait fallu que nous eussions désemmanché les poignées des portes avant de déménager. (We should have taken off the door handles before moving.)
  3. Si vous aviez désemmanché le volant, nous n’aurions pas eu cet accident. (If you had removed the steering wheel, we would not have had this accident.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse désemmanché Il était possible que je eusse désemmanché. It was possible that I had unscrewed.
tu eusses désemmanché Il était possible que tu eusses désemmanché. It was possible that you had unscrewed.
il eût désemmanché Il était possible qu’il eût désemmanché. It was possible that he had unscrewed.
elle eût désemmanché Il était possible qu’elle eût désemmanché. It was possible that she had unscrewed.
on eût désemmanché Il était possible qu’on eût désemmanché. It was possible that one had unscrewed.
nous eussions désemmanché Il était possible que nous eussions désemmanché. It was possible that we had unscrewed.
vous eussiez désemmanché Il était possible que vous eussiez désemmanché. It was possible that you had unscrewed.
ils eussent désemmanché Il était possible qu’ils eussent désemmanché. It was possible that they had unscrewed.
elles eussent désemmanché Il était possible qu’elles eussent désemmanché. It was possible that they had unscrewed.

Other Conjugations for Désemmancher.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb désemmancher
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Désemmancher – 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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