French Grammar Rules Reading Le Passé Simple

French Grammar Rules Reading Le Passé Simple Megan L. There is one French verb tense that you will likely only come across in literature, the  passé simple. French tutor  Carol Beth L.  shows you how to recognize and understand this tense The passé simple is a unique tense in the French language. Perhaps one or two centuries ago, it was commonly used like the simple past in English. For example: Jallai au magasin. I went to the store. Je couru deux kilometres. I ran two kilometers. The passé simple is similar to the simple past in English in that it condenses the past tense into a single word, instead of using two parts. But with the passage of time, language changes. The passé simple fell into disuse in spoken French, in favor of the passé composé and the imparfait. But in writing, authors still preferred using the  passé simple  to speak about the past. In effect, it became a literary tense. In modern times, authors are beginning to use it less frequently to make their writing sound more like everyday spoken language. But many important works through the mid to late 20th century still use the passé simple. Want to read Antoine de Saint-Exupérys famous Le Petit Prince in its original form, for example? Youll need to be able to recognize the passé simple. Conjugating Regular Verbs in  The Passé Simple For regular verbs, formation of the passé simple is not too difficult. Like other verbal forms, remove the ending (-er, ir, and re) and add the appropriate endings. See  below for an example of an er verb, an ir verb, and an re verb. Conjugating Irregular Verbs in Le Passé Simple Beyond these basic forms, irregular verbs also have irregular roots. It is helpful to think of the accent circonflex (^) as being the first reliable part of the ending, and the vowel upon which it sits as being sometimes determined by the vowel patterns of the verb itself. For example, for the verb avoir  (to have), in the past tense is jai eu. The past participle eu  comes back as the root for the passé simple, and the circonflex sits nicely on the “u.” J ? eus Tu ? eus Il/elle/on ? eut Nous ? eûmes Vous ? eûtes Ils/elles ? eurent The roots for most irregular verbs, however, do come back in some form or another in one of the verbs other tenses, or looks similar in some way.  Here are the roots for some irregular verbs in French: aller  (to go)  ?    all- pouvoir  (to be able)  ?  pu- connaitre  (to be familiar with)  ?  connu- devoir  (to have an obligation), ?  du- naître  (to be born)  ?  naqu- savoir  (to know)  ?  su- venir  (to come)  ?  vin- tenir  (to hold)  ?  tin- The Verb  ÃŠtre Probably one of the most difficult verbs to recognize in the passé simple  is the verb être. However, it is also one of the most common and most easily recognizable. Its conjugation is as follows: Je ? fus Tu?  fus Il ? fut Nous ? fûmes Vous  ? fûtes Ils ? furent Time to Practice! Many teachers will tell you that the most important thing to master about the passé simple is recognition. For everyday, common usage of French, that is true. To take yourself to another level, however, try to master its usage, as well. Here are a few exercises to begin your practice. For the sake of simplicity, conjugate each verb in the passé simple; dont worry about other past tenses for now. 1) Nous ________ (être) au parc. We were at the park. 2) Tu ________ (avoir) cinq ans. You were five years old. 3) Tu ________ (tenir) la main de ta soeur, la soeur qui ________ (être) aussi ta meilleure amie. You held your sisters hand, the sister who was also your best friend. 4) Nos parents ________ (parler) de leur propres enfances innocents. Our parents spoke of their own innocent childhoods. 5) Ils ________ (finir) leur conversation et un coup de tonnerre ________ (éclater). They finished their conversation and a clap of thunder struck. 6) Trop tôt, il ________ (être) temps de rentrer. Too soon, it was time to go home. Check your conjugations below: 1) fûmes 2) eus 3) tenis, fut 4) parlèrent 5) finirent, éclata 6) fut Did you do all right? Now try creating some of your own. Want to learn more about  the  passé simple? Taking lessons with a private instructor is a great way to master new topics of the French language. Search for your French tutor today! Post Author:  Carol Beth L. Carol Beth L. teaches  French lessons in San Francisco, CA. She has her Masters in French language education from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has been teaching since 2009.  Learn more about Carol Beth here! Photo by  Luke Ma Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher