Passé simple — literary past tense (recognition)
Passé simple — literary past tense (recognition) means “Passé simple: the literary narrative past (for recognition)”. The passé simple is a written, literary past tense used for completed actions in narration (novels, history, fairy tales). Formation: radical + terminaisons littéraires : -a / -it / -ut / -int (il parla, il finit, il fut, il vint)
Passé simple: the literary narrative past (for recognition)
C1Formation
radical + terminaisons littéraires : -a / -it / -ut / -int (il parla, il finit, il fut, il vint)
Explanation
The passé simple is a written, literary past tense used for completed actions in narration (novels, history, fairy tales). Its endings fall into four groups: -a forms for -er verbs (il parla, ils parlèrent); -it forms (il finit, il partit, ils finirent); -ut forms (il fut, il eut, il put, ils furent); and the special -int forms of venir and tenir (il vint, il tint, ils vinrent). It is not used in speech, where the passé composé replaces it; you mainly need to recognize it when reading.
Examples
FAQ
Passé simple — literary past tense (recognition) — what does it mean and how is it used?
Passé simple: the literary narrative past (for recognition). The passé simple is a written, literary past tense used for completed actions in narration (novels, history, fairy tales). Its endings fall into four groups: -a forms for -er verbs (il parla, ils parlèrent); -it forms (il finit, il partit, ils finirent); -ut forms (il fut, il eut, il put, ils furent); and the special -int forms of venir and tenir (il vint, il tint, ils vinrent). It is not used in speech, where the passé composé replaces it; you mainly need to recognize it when reading.
Passé simple — literary past tense (recognition) — how do you form it?
radical + terminaisons littéraires : -a / -it / -ut / -int (il parla, il finit, il fut, il vint)