FrenchToCEdit Usage of the Simple Past
The simple past is mostly a literary tense, used in fairy tales, and perhaps newspapers. One
that native French students are expected to recognize but not use.
Edit Formation of the Simple Past
To conjugate in this tense, one finds the stem and appends the following, as according to
the table:
| Subject | Add Ending | Conjugated Verb |
|---|
| JE | -ai | dansai |
| Tu | -as | dansas |
| Il / Elle / On | -a | dansa |
| Nous | -âmes | dansâmes |
| Vous | -âtes | dansâtes |
| Ils / Elles | -èrent | dansèrent |
It should be noted that être, along with a few other verbs are consistent in their
irregularities in the passé simple as well.
Edit Simple Past Stems
- For normal verbs (not irregular);
-er, changes it to é (manger = mangé)
-ir, take off the r (choisir = choisi)
-re, take off the re and add a u
- Certain verbs (-cer and -ger verbs) are stem-changing in the nous form of the present
indicative; these are stem-changing the simple past also. The stem change that applies in
the present indicative is retained when conjugating the je, tu, il, nous, and vous forms of
the simple past. That stem change is reversed when conjugating the ils form of the simple
past.
- For irregular verbs whose past participle end in -u, (but not for regular -re verbs, whose
past participle also end in -u), that past participle is also the simple past stem.
- Some verbs have irregular simple past stems.
Irregular Stems| Verb | Simple Past stem |
|---|
| s'asseoir | s'ass- |
| conduire | conduis- |
| dire | d- |
| écrire | écriv- |
| faire | f- |
| joindre | joign- |
| mettre | m- |
| naître | naqu- |
| peindre | peign- |
| prendre | pr- |
| rire | r- |
| voir | v- |
Edit Simple Past Endings
- To conjugate in the past tense, add the appropriate ending to the past participle. There
is one set of endings for irregular verbs whose past participles end in -u ("irregular
endings"), and another set for all other verbs ("regular endings").
Regular Endings| Subject | Ending |
|---|
| je | -ai |
| tu | -as |
| il | -a |
| nous | -âmes |
| vous | -âtes |
| ils | -èrent |
Irregular Endings| Subject | Ending |
|---|
| je | -s |
| tu | -s |
| il | -t |
| nous | -^mes |
| vous | -^tes |
| ils | -rent |
Edit Irregular Conjugations
- The conjugations for être, mourir, and venir are entirely irregular, and
are not based on past simple stems or endings.
Être| Subject | Conjugation |
|---|
| je | fus |
| tu | fus |
| il | fut |
| nous | fûmes |
| vous | fûtes |
| ils | furent |
Mourir| Subject | Conjugation |
|---|
| je | mourus |
| tu | mourus |
| il | mourut |
| nous | mourûmes |
| vous | mourûtes |
| ils | moururent |
Venir| Subject | Conjugation |
|---|
| je | vins |
| tu | vins |
| il | vint |
| nous | vînmes |
| vous | vîntes |
| ils | vinrent |
For learning
French | Category
Uncategorized | Level
Unspecified |
Second language
English | Created
Jul 16, 2008 16:27 | Views
1659 |
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