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Le Passé Simple Simplified Revision Notes

Revision notes with simplified explanations to understand Le Passé Simple quickly and effectively.

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Le Passé Simple

The passé simple is a French past tense mainly used in writing, not speaking. You'll find it in books, stories, and history texts. It's like the past tense in English but is more formal.

infoNote

At Leaving Cert level, you only need to recognise the passé simple. It might appear in Comprehension 2, within the literary text, but you won't need to form it.


When to use it:

In books and stories: Authors use it to talk about things that happened in the past.

In history: It's used to describe past events in a formal way.


The Formation of the Passé Simple

-er Verbs-re Verbs-ir Verbs
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

Regular -ER Verbs

infoNote

Aimer (to love) j'aimai — I loved

tu aimas — you loved

il/elle/on aima — he/she/one loved

nous aimâmes — we loved

vous aimâtes — you loved

ils/elles aimèrent — they loved

Regular -IR Verbs

infoNote

Choisir (to choose) je choisis — I chose

tu choisis — you chose

il/elle/on choisit — he/she/one chose

nous choisîmes — we chose

vous choisîtes — you chose

ils/elles choisirent — they chose

Regular -RE Verbs

infoNote

Attendre (to wait) j'attendis — I waited

tu attendis — you waited

il/elle/on attendit — he/she/one waited

nous attendîmes — we waited

vous attendîtes — you waited

ils/elles attendirent — they waited

infoNote

Note: For regular -IR verbs, the conjugations for the first four singular forms in the passé simple are identical to those in the present tense.


Irregular Verbs in the Passé Simple

These are the most commonly used irregular verbs. You should be able to recognise them, as they may appear in Comprehension 2.

Avoir (to have)

J'eus
Tu eus
Il eut / elle eut
Nous eûmes
Vous eûtes
Ils eurent / elles eurent

Être (to be)

Je fus
Tu fus
Il fut / elle fut
Nous fûmes
Vous fûtes
Ils furent / elles furent

Faire (to do/make)

Je fis
Tu fis
Il fit / elle fit
Nous fîmes
Vous fîtes
Ils firent / elles firent

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