French tense
French Passé simple
The literary equivalent of passé composé, used for completed plot events in novels, biographies, fairy tales, and history.
When to use Passé simple
Literary plot
Recognize it as the completed action that advances a written story.
Le prince entra dans la salle.
The prince entered the room.
History and biography
Recognize it in formal accounts of completed events.
Napoléon devint empereur en 1804.
Napoleon became emperor in 1804.
Narrative contrast
Imparfait sets the scene; passé simple marks what happened.
Il pleuvait quand le héros arriva.
It was raining when the hero arrived.
How to form Passé simple
Recognize the -a, -i, and -u ending families plus a small set of irregular stems.
Patterns and conjugation examples
-a- endings
Regular. Use -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent.
parler , to speak
| je | parlai |
|---|---|
| tu | parlas |
| il | parla |
| nous | parlâmes |
| vous | parlâtes |
| ils | parlèrent |
-i- endings
Regular. Use -is, -is, -it, -îmes, -îtes, -irent.
finir , to finish
| je | finis |
|---|---|
| tu | finis |
| il | finit |
| nous | finîmes |
| vous | finîtes |
| ils | finirent |
-u- endings
Regular. Use -us, -us, -ut, -ûmes, -ûtes, -urent.
vouloir , to want
| je | voulus |
|---|---|
| tu | voulus |
| il | voulut |
| nous | voulûmes |
| vous | voulûtes |
| ils | voulurent |
-enir → -in-
Transformation. Venir and tenir families use an -in- stem.
venir , to come
| je | vins |
|---|---|
| tu | vins |
| il | vint |
| nous | vînmes |
| vous | vîntes |
| ils | vinrent |
Keep ï
Transformation. Haïr and ouïr keep the diaeresis in their -i- forms.
haïr , to hate
| je | haïs |
|---|---|
| tu | haïs |
| il | haït |
| nous | haïmes |
| vous | haïtes |
| ils | haïrent |
u → û
Transformation. Croître keeps a circumflex on û in its literary stem.
croître , to grow
| je | crûs |
|---|---|
| tu | crûs |
| il | crût |
| nous | crûmes |
| vous | crûtes |
| ils | crûrent |
Highly irregular verbs
- être → fus · fûmes · furent
- avoir → eus · eûmes · eurent