Passé simple (simple past tense in French) – Conjugation & Examples

Passé simple is one of the three French past tenses that correspond to past tense (the other two are Passé passé composé and Passé imparfait). The differences between the three past tenses are explained in more detail at the end of this article.

Passé simple is not used in spoken language, but more in written language (e.g. stories and narratives) and in very formal speeches. Therefore, you will probably never use the passé simple in practice, but it is still useful to be able to recognize it when you come across it.

You can see 20 Exercises with Passé Simple here.

 

Verb endings in passé simple

In passé simple , the inifinitive ending of the verb is replaced by the passé simple ending. There are two sets of endings in passé simple:

• one set for regular verbs in the 1st conjugation (i.e. those ending in -er) and
• one set for 2nd and 3rd conjugations (i.e. those ending in -ir and -re)

 

1st conjugation

All verbs in the 1st conjugation get these endings in passé simple:

1. conjugation		Examples
pronoun	ending	parler	trouver
je	-ai	parlai	trouvai
tu	-as	parlas	trouvas
il/elle/on	-a	parla	trouva
nous	-âmes	parlâmes	trouvâmes
vous	-âtes	parlâtes	trouvâtes
ils/elles	-èrent	parlèrent	trouvèrent

 

2nd and 3rd conjugation

All verbs in the 2nd and 3rd conjugation get these endings in passé simple:

2. og 3. conjugation		Examples
pronoun	ending	finir	vendre
je	-is	finis	vendis
tu	-is	finis	vendis
il/elle/on	-it	finit	vendit
nous	-îmes	finîmes	vendîmes
vous	-îtes	finîtes	vendîtes
ils/elles	-irent	finirent	vendirent

 

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs change their stem when conjugated in passé simple. They have roughly the same endings as verbs in the 2nd and 3rd conjugations.

Here are some examples of irregular verbs in passé simple:

 

Irregular verbs ending in -ir

 

Irregular verbs ending in -re

In addition, for irregular verbs, the majority of verbs ending in -u in the past participle (the tense used to construct the passé composé) use their past participle as the stem of passé simple. Here are some examples:

 

The differences between the 3 tenses

As mentioned in the introduction to this article, there are three forms of the past tense in French, which together correspond to past tense. The three tenses are:

• Imparfait
• Passé simple
• Passé composé

 

Imparfait

Imparfait indicates the existence of an indefinite act:

• Si je buvais moins, je serai un autre homme = If you drank less, you would be a different man

• Tu buvais tout le temps = You drank all the time

• Il buvait seule, pour oublier le boulot = He drank alone to forget work

Imparfait indicates that a past action is ongoing.

 

Passé simple and passé composé

Passé simple and passé composé indicate that the action is limited:

• Je bus une troisième tasse, puis une quatrième = I drank a third cup and then a fourth (passé simple)

• Je ne suis pas malheureux, mais quand j'ai bu, je pleure = I am not unhappy, but when I have been drinking, I cry (passé composé)

Passé simple and passé composé indicate that a past action has been completed.

It should also be mentioned that:

• Passé simple is used exclusively in neat or narrative writing and in very formal speeches
• Passé composé is used both in speech and writing

In addition, you should be aware that you cannot alternate between the two times in the same passage.