{"id":23108,"date":"2016-03-28T21:19:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T19:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=23108"},"modified":"2017-10-24T15:50:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T13:50:40","slug":"le-passe-simple-for-regular-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/le-passe-simple-for-regular-verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Pass\u00e9 Simple for Regular Verbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever heard of a French verb tense called “le pass\u00e9 simple”<\/em>? The preterit, or the simple past, as it is known in English, is used primarily in literature and very formal speech. However, in modern French usage the simple past tense is rarely used and, frankly, going out of style. However, this doesn’t meant that you don’t need to identify it when you see it. If you want to read any French classics in their original language, you should be able to recognize\u00a0and understand\u00a0le pass\u00e9 simple.<\/em><\/p>\n

The simple past is the literary equivalent of\u00a0pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9 and is used primarily to describe an action that has taken place in a defined past. Like le pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9, le pass\u00e9 simple can be used with l’imparfait<\/a><\/p>\n

(the imperfect tense). L’imparfait is the tense that is used to describe an action that began in the past that is ongoing, a repeated or unfinished event, the general atmosphere or mood, or a state of being.<\/p>\n

As with the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9, regular -er, -ir, or -re verbs are conjugated in the pass\u00e9 simple by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the pass\u00e9 simple endings. Unlike with pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9, however, you do not need to include a conjugated avoir or \u00eatre verb before the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9 verb. With the pass\u00e9 simple, the tense is conveyed in one word.<\/p>\n

Here are the pass\u00e9 simple endings for -ir and -re verbs:<\/p>\n

je<\/strong> -is<\/p>\n

tu<\/strong> -is<\/p>\n

il\/elle\/on<\/strong> -it<\/p>\n

nous<\/strong> -\u00eemes<\/p>\n

vous<\/strong> -\u00eetes<\/p>\n

ils\/elles<\/strong> -irent<\/p>\n

And here are the pass\u00e9 simple endings for -er verbs:<\/p>\n

je<\/strong> -ai<\/p>\n

tu<\/strong> -as<\/p>\n

il\/elle\/on<\/strong> -a<\/p>\n

nous<\/strong> -\u00e2mes<\/p>\n

vous<\/strong> -\u00e2tes<\/p>\n

ils\/elles<\/strong> -\u00e8rent<\/p>\n

As you can see, the nous and vous forms of the pass\u00e9 simple seem a little strange; they don’t resemble any other French verb tense endings. This is very helpful, actually, because it is easy to spot these endings.<\/p>\n

Now, let’s use the simple past tense in a sentence:<\/p>\n

Nous fin<\/em>\u00eemes nos devoirs<\/em> (We finished our homework.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice how this tense is different to the regular past tense (pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9):<\/p>\n

Nous avons fini nos devoirs<\/em> (We finished our homework.)<\/p>\n

If you want to combine the simple past with an imperfect verb, you might see something like this:<\/p>\n

Quand je suis sorti de l’\u00e9cole, il pleuvait.<\/em> (When I left school, it was raining.)<\/p>\n

Quand je sortis de l’\u00e9cole, il pleuvait.\u00a0<\/em>(When I left school, it was raining.)<\/p>\n

Note here that the imperfect tense (pleuvait\u00a0<\/em>for\u00a0pleuvoir<\/em>, to rain) remains the same, while the verb\u00a0sortir<\/em> changes depending on whether it is used in the pass\u00e9 simple or the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Can you make a sentence where you use a regular form of the simple past alongside the imperfect tense?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever heard of a French verb tense called “le pass\u00e9 simple”? The preterit, or the simple past, as it is known in English, is used primarily in literature and very formal speech. However, in modern French usage the simple past tense is rarely used and, frankly, going out of style. However, this doesn’t…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3563,408418],"class_list":["post-23108","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-imperfect","tag-simple-past"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t