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il eût

had, would have

y → avoir
eû to have; to possess + t 3rd-person singular imperfect subjunctive
auxiliary · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Uncommon #17,202
had Literary and rarely used today; it is often replaced by the passé composé or pluperfect in everyday French.
FR: Elle partit après qu’il eût terminé son travail.
EN: She left after he had finished his work.
would have In literary or formal hypothetical expressions.
FR: Qui eût pensé qu’il réussirait ?
EN: Who would have thought he would succeed?
Conjugation of avoir
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
Third eût —

Qui l'eût cru ?

Who would have thought it?

— Le Maître d'armes (2006)

Mon frère ne m'eût-il pas aidé, je me serais noyé.

Had my brother not helped me, I would have drowned.

Il partit après qu'il eût déjeuné.

He left after he had had lunch.

Qui eût cru qu'il s'intéresse tant à cette chèvre ?

Who would have thought he was so interested in that goat?

— Wicked (2024)

Il n'y avait rien qu'elle eût pu faire.

There was nothing she could have done.

Il aurait bien voulu savoir ce que Fix aurait pu dire, s'il eût été présent.

He would have very much liked to know what Fix might have said if he had been there.

Et quand cela eût été, on n'en eût pas su davantage sur la fuite du prisonnier.

And even if that had happened, it would have told us no more about the prisoner’s escape.

Son absence eût réveillé les soupçons de Georges Devanne.

His absence would have aroused Georges Devanne’s suspicions.

Je ne vois pas en quoi cette affaire eût pu retarder son maître !

I don’t see how this matter could have held up its master!

À une autre époque, en un autre lieu, notre histoire eût été différente.

In another time, in another place, our story might have been different.

— 2046 (2004)

Qui l'eût cru.

Who would have thought it.

— Benni (2019)

Il eût voulu décharger contre eux son arsenal de revolvers.

He would have liked to empty his arsenal of revolvers on them.

Lupin eût été pris au piège.

Lupin would have been caught in the trap.

C'eût été une folie, et comment admettre que cet homme fût fou à ce point ?

It would have been madness—and how could one accept that this man was mad to that extent?

C'eût été embarrassant.

That would have been embarrassing.

Quoi qu'en eût dit Gervaise, Arsène Lupin ne se sentait pas chez lui.

Whatever Gervaise may have said, Arsène Lupin didn’t feel at home.

Mon frère ne m'eût-il pas aidée, je me serais noyée.

Had my brother not helped me, I would have drowned.

Qui eût cru qu'un si petit être puisse supporter tant de souffrance ?

Who would have thought that such a small creature could endure so much suffering?

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : Le Retour du roi (2003)

Ouais, mais c'eût été très important pour moi.

Yeah, but it would have been very important to me.

— La Famille Tenenbaum (2001)

Il mit ses outils de côté après qu'il eût fini.

He put his tools aside after he had finished.

Il eût donné une de ses oreilles pour entendre de l'autre ce qui se disait là.

He would have given one of his ears to hear with the other what was being said there.

À cet instant, aucune intervention humaine n'eût pu la sauver.

At that moment, no human intervention could have saved her.

On eût pu croire qu'il dormait.

You could have thought he was asleep.

Et, en effet, on eût été étonné à moins.

And indeed, you would have had to be easily surprised.

Votre existence eût été heureuse et libre.

Your life would have been happy and free.

En été, on eût répondu du succès.

In summer, one would have said it was a success.

verb · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Rare #43,759
had A literary, old-fashioned form, used in formal writing and older narration.
FR: Je doutais qu’il eût assez de temps.
EN: I doubted that he had enough time.
Conjugation of avoir
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
Third eût —

En vérité, il n'y eût qu'un seul chrétien, et il mourut sur la croix.

In truth, there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross.

Marie eût le dernier mot.

Mary had the last word.

Tom eût un accident de voiture à Rome.

Tom had a car accident in Rome.

La disparition de votre correspondance avec le major von Lieben n'eût pas suffi.

The disappearance of your correspondence with Major von Lieben would not have been enough.

À cette vitesse c'eût été la mort certaine.

At that speed, it would have been certain death.

Il n'y avait rien qu'il eût pu faire.

There was nothing he could have done.

Sounds similar to

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