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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb expérimenter

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The English translation of the French verb expérimenter is “to experiment.” The infinitive form is pronounced as “eks-pey-ree-men-tey.”

Expérimenter comes from the Latin word experiri, meaning “to try” or “to test.” It entered the French language in the 14th century and has been used in its current form since the 16th century. In everyday French, expérimenter is most often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense to express an action that took place before another past action in a hypothetical or uncertain situation.

Examples:

  1. J’aurais aimé que tu aies expérimenté cette nouvelle recette avant de l’essayer pour le dîner. (I wish you had experimented with this new recipe before trying it for dinner.)
  2. Si nous avions expérimenté cette méthode plus tôt, nous aurions peut-être évité cette catastrophe. (If we had experimented with this method earlier, we might have avoided this disaster.)
  3. Il était étonné que vous n’eussiez jamais expérimenté ce jeu avant. (He was surprised that you had never experimented with this game before.)

English translations:

  1. I wish you had experimented with this new recipe before trying it for dinner.
  2. If we had experimented with this method earlier, we might have avoided this disaster.
  3. He was surprised that you had never experimented with this game before.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse expérimenté Si seulement j’avais eusse expérimenté plus tot. If only I had experimented earlier.
tu eusses expérimenté J’aurais aimé que tu eusses expérimenté. I wish you had experimented.
il eût expérimenté J’aurais aimé qu’il eût expérimenté. I wish he had experimented.
elle eût expérimenté J’aurais aimé qu’elle eût expérimenté. I wish she had experimented.
on eût expérimenté J’aurais aimé qu’on eût expérimenté. I wish one had experimented.
nous eussions expérimenté J’aurais aimé que nous eussions expérimenté. I wish we had experimented.
vous eussiez expérimenté J’aurais aimé que vous eussiez expérimenté. I wish you had experimented.
ils eussent expérimenté J’aurais aimé qu’ils eussent expérimenté. I wish they had experimented.
elles eussent expérimenté J’aurais aimé qu’elles eussent expérimenté. I wish they had experimented.

Other Conjugations for Expérimenter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb expérimenter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb expérimenter
    (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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Expérimenter – 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 expérimenter. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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