The passé simple is a literary narrative tense. It is rare in speech, where the passé composé is used instead, but important for reading. It presents completed events in a story or historical account. It is used for:
- Completed actions in narratives
- Main events in literary narratives
- Historical accounts
- Formal documents and academic writing
- Sequential actions in storytelling
- Expressing definitively concluded past events
Regular Conjugations
| Pronoun | -er | -ir (finir type) | -re |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | -ai | -is | -is |
| tu | -as | -is | -is |
| il/elle/on | -a | -it | -it |
| nous | -âmes | -îmes | -îmes |
| vous | -âtes | -îtes | -îtes |
| ils/elles | -èrent | -irent | -irent |
-er verbs take the a endings, which belong to writing rather than speech.
Regular -er verb: parler in Passé Simple
-ir verbs take the i endings: je finis, il finit.
Regular -ir verb: finir in Passé Simple
-re verbs take those same i endings.
Regular -re verb: vendre in Passé Simple
Common Irregular Verbs
These verbs take a stem of their own, most of them in -us or -is.
| Pronoun | être | avoir | faire | dire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | fus | eus | fis | dis |
| tu | fus | eus | fis | dis |
| il/elle/on | fut | eut | fit | dit |
| nous | fûmes | eûmes | fîmes | dîmes |
| vous | fûtes | eûtes | fîtes | dîtes |
| ils/elles | furent | eurent | firent | dirent |
Note: Many verbs have irregular stems in the passé simple, but the endings within each group (-er, -ir, -re) remain consistent.