Passé simple – recognition
Il fut, elle alla, ils firent
The passé simple is the literary past tense. It has the same meaning as the passé composé, but it's used in writing: novels, fairy tales, history books, biographies and formal journalism. You rarely need to produce it, but you must recognize it to read French.
Regular forms
| -er (parler) | -ir / -re (finir, vendre) | |
|---|---|---|
| je | parlai | finis, vendis |
| tu | parlas | finis, vendis |
| il / elle | parla | finit, vendit |
| nous | parlâmes | finîmes, vendîmes |
| vous | parlâtes | finîtes, vendîtes |
| ils / elles | parlèrent | finirent, vendirent |
In practice you'll mostly meet the 3rd person (il, ils).
The u-type (many irregular verbs)
- avoir: il eut, ils eurent
- être: il fut, ils furent
- vouloir: il voulut, pouvoir: il put, savoir: il sut, devoir: il dut
- lire: il lut, boire: il but, croire: il crut, vivre: il vécut
- mourir: il mourut, connaître: il connut
The i-type
- faire: il fit, ils firent
- dire: il dit, prendre: il prit, mettre: il mit, voir: il vit
- écrire: il écrivit, naître: il naquit
The in-type
- venir: il vint, ils vinrent, tenir: il tint
- Il était une fois une princesse qui vécut dans un château.Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a castle.
- Napoléon naquit en 1769 et mourut en 1821.
- Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.They got married and had lots of children.
With the imparfait
In literary narrative, the passé simple plays the role of the passé composé: events (passé simple) against background (imparfait): Il pleuvait. Elle ouvrit la porte et sortit.
Il fut (passé simple of être) can look like il fit (faire). Also, il finit is both present and passé simple: context decides.
Practice
- « Il fut » is the passé simple of…Options: être · faire · falloir
Show the answer
être
- « Elle vint » is the passé simple of…Options: venir · voir · vivre
Show the answer
venir
- « Ils firent » is the passé simple of…Options: faire · finir · fuir
Show the answer
faire
- « Il naquit » means…Options: he was born · he swam · he died
Show the answer
he was born
In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days until you've mastered it.