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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb habiliter

Get the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) tense conjugation of habiliter. Includes a FREE downloadable reference sheet (no email required). Alternatively if you have a lot of text to check then use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!

The English translation of the French verb habiliter is “to enable” or “to empower.” The infinitive form of habiliter is pronounced as “ah-bee-lee-tay.”

The word habiliter comes from the Latin word “habilitare,” meaning “to make able or skillful.” In everyday French, it is most often used in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense, which is a literary tense used to express a hypothetical or unreal past action.

Examples of habiliter in the Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait tense are:

  1. Il fallait que je l’eusse habilite à prendre ses propres décisions. (It was necessary that I had enabled him to make his own decisions.)
  2. Nous aurions aimé que vous eussiez habilité les membres de l’équipe à travailler en autonomie. (We would have liked for you to have empowered the team members to work independently.)
  3. Les parents auraient préféré que leurs enfants eussent été habilités à gérer leur argent dès un jeune âge. (The parents would have preferred for their children to have been enabled to manage their money from a young age.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je eusse habilité Si j’eusse habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If I had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
tu eusses habilité Si tu eusses habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If you had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
il eût habilité Si il eût habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If he had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
elle eût habilité Si elle eût habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If she had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
on eût habilité Si on eût habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If one had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
nous eussions habilité Si nous eussions habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If we had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
vous eussiez habilité Si vous eussiez habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If you had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
ils eussent habilité Si ils eussent habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If they had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.
elles eussent habilité Si elles eussent habilité l’employé, il n’aurait pas fait cette erreur. If they had enabled the employee, he wouldn’t have made this mistake.

Other Conjugations for Habiliter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb habiliter
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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