Source: CliffNotes The Pass Simple The pass simple (past definite) is used primarily in formal, literary, and

historical writings to express a completed past action, event, or situation. In conversation and informal writing, the pass compos is used instead of the pass simple to express the past. Here are two examples of the pass simple. Il aida les pauvres. (He helped the poor.) Les soldats perdirent la bataille. (The soldiers lost the battle.) The pass simple of regular verbs The pass simple of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive endings ( -er, -ir, -re) and adding the endings illustrated in Table 1 . TABLE 1 The Pass Simple of Regular Verbs -er Verbs aid er je ( j') aid ai tu aid as il aid a nous aid mes vous aid tes ils aid rent -ir Verbs fin ir fin is fin is fin it fin mes fin tes fin irent -re Verbs dfend re dfend is dfend is dfend it dfend mes dfend tes dfend irent

voyager: je voyageai, tu voyageas, il voyagea, nous voyagemes, vous voyagetes, ils voyagrent The pass simple of irregular verbs Verbs with irregular stems in the pass simple generally end in -i or -u and have the following endings: je: nous: -mes -s tu: -s il: -t ils: -rent vous: -tes

For example: Jeanne d'Arc naquit en 1412 Domrmy. (Joan of Arc was born in 1412 in Domrmy.) En 1066 Guillaume le Conqurant devint roi de l'Angleterre. (In 1066, William the Conqueror became the king of England.) Table 2 lists the most common irregular verbs in the pass simple and their stems. Note that many of these stems are the same as, or closely resemble, the past participle of the verb. TABLE 2 Pass Simple Irregular Verb Stems Verb Infinitive avoir (to have) boire (to drink) connatre (to know) construire (to build) courir (to run) craindre (to fear) croire (to believe) devoir (to have to) dire (to say, to tell) crire (to write) tre (to be) Pass Simple Stem eubuconnuconstruiscourucraignicrududicrivifu

The following spelling changes occur in the pass simple: Verbs ending in -cer change c to before a to maintain the sound of soft c: avancer: j'avanai, tu avanas, il avana, nous avanmes, vous avantes, ils avancrent Verbs ending in -ger change -g to ge before -a to maintain the sound of soft g:

faire (to do) joindre (to join) lire (to read) mettre (to put) mourir (to die) natre (to be born) ouvrir (to open) peindre (to paint) plaire (to please) pouvoir (to be able to) prendre (to take) recevoir (to receive) rompre (to break) savoir (to know) tenir (to hold) traduire (to translate) vaincre (to vanquish) venir (to come) vivre (to live) voir (to see) vouloir (to wish, to want)

fijoignilumimourunaquiouvripeigniplupu prireurompusutintraduisivainquivinvcuvivoulu-

Source: Wikipedia

The pass simple (French pronunciation: , simple past or preterite), also called the pass dfini (IPA: [pase defini], definite past), is the literary equivalent of the pass compos in theFrench language, used only in formal writing (including history and literature) and formal speech. As with other preterites, it is used when the action has a definite beginning and end and has already been completed. In writing it is most often used for narration. While literary and refined language still hangs on to the pass simple, the spoken language has simply renounced pass simple for the pass compos, which means that in French, there is no longer a nuance between: Je suis arriv. ("I have arrived." I have come to town. I may have just arrived.) J'arrivai. ("I arrived." I came to town, but it is possible that I am not still here.) The difference (regarding written language) is subtle. The pass simple is divorced from the present and has definitely been completed, while the pass compos is still connected to the present and may even still be happening. [edit]Constructing the pass simple Many students of French are surprised to find that even books for elementary-aged French children are written using the pass simple, even though it is only taught to learners of French in advanced classes. The pass simple is formed by dropping the last two letters off the infinitive form of the verb and adding the appropriate ending. The three main classes of French regular verbs (er, -ir, -re) are conjugated in the pass simple tense in the following way:

j'aimai

nous aimmes

tu aimas

vous aimtes

il aima

ils aimrent

dormir

to sleep

je dormis

nous dormmes

tu dormis

vous dormtes

il dormit

ils dormirent

rendre

to give back

je rendis

nous rendmes

tu rendis

vous rendtes

il rendit

ils rendirent

Several common irregular verbs: faireto do/make je fis tu fis il fit nous fmes vous ftes ils firent

aimer

to like

venirto come je vins tu vins il vint nous vnmes vous vntes ils vinrent treto be je fus tu fus il fut nous fmes vous ftes ils furent avoirto have j'eus tu eus il eut nous emes vous etes ils eurent Many other irregular verbs are easily recognized because the pass simple often resembles the past participle. For example, il courut (he ran) is from courir, for which the past participle is couru. French conjugation Local Variations and Modern Usage In modern spoken French, the pass simple has practically disappeared. Localised French has its own variations, like this sample from Langue d'ol in the North of France where "mangea" is replaced by "mangit": Malheureux comme le chien Brisquet, qui n'allit qu'une fois au bois, et que le loup le mangit. Unfortunate like Brisquet's dog, who only went into the woods once and the wolf ate it. From Histoire du chien de Brisquet by Charles Nodier

Even though it has been abandoned by the spoken language, the pass simple is still very common in the written language as a narrative tense, even in children's books and popular literature. In modern spoken French, the pass simple is occasionally slipped into conversation as a joke to make the sentence sound either snobbier or more refined, especially after the first or second person plural, which are rarely if ever used in contemporary French, even in writing.