2

Dans la phrase ci-dessous, comment expliquer la grammaire? Il y a le futur et le participe passé dans la même phrase. Je n'ai jamais vu ça.

Il aurait dû avoir pitié.

Pouvez-vous m'expliquer s'il vous plaît?

Improve this question
3

Cette phrase utilise le conditionnel passé. Lisez cet article qui donne une bonne explication pour en apprendre plus : Conditionnel passé.

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    He would have had pity? But then why the extra avoir at the end?
    – user3769423
    Apr 17 '15 at 15:44
  • 1
    The first use of "avoir" (as aurait) is with the verb devoir (as dû , the past participle). The second use is in the phrase "avoir pitié", which means "to have pity". Roughly, the sentence translates to: "He would've had to have pity" in English.
    – arbitrarystringofletters
    Apr 17 '15 at 15:50
  • 1
    Case closed. Merci beaucoup.
    – user3769423
    Apr 17 '15 at 15:51
  • @arbitrarystringofletters Good answer and nice link, but doesn't the rough translation in your comment have one too many "haves" in it; and/or couldn't "aurait dû" perhaps be better translated here as "should've",i.e., "He should've had (or shown) pity"?
    – Papa Poule
    Apr 17 '15 at 17:16
  • 1
    Devoir is a difficult verb to translate because there are so many ways to express its meaning in English. For example, given the phrase: "je dois", you could say: "I must", "I should", "I have to", or "I need to".
    – arbitrarystringofletters
    Apr 17 '15 at 17:42

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.