The Past Simple
The past simple is used to describe an action that happened in the
past some time ago:
| Je mangeai |
I ate |
| Il étudia |
He studied |
It is used less frequently in spoken French. It can be found in
literary French. Iin spoken French, it is usually substituted by the
Present Perfect:
| Past Simple |
Je regardai |
I saw |
| Present Perfect |
J'ai regardé |
I have seen |
With the verbs from the first group (those that end in 'er') the
past simple if formed by adding the following endings to the root
of the verb (the infinitive without 'er'):
| Je |
+ ai |
| Tu |
+ as |
| Il / elle |
+ a |
| Nous |
+ âmes |
| Vous |
+ âtes |
| Ils / elles |
+ èrent |
Here are a few examples:
| |
Danser |
To dance |
Aimer |
To love |
| Je |
Dansai |
I danced |
Aimai |
I loved |
| Tu |
Dansas |
You danced |
Aimas |
You loved |
| Il / elle |
Dansa |
He danced |
Aima |
He loved |
| Nous |
Dansâmes |
We danced |
Aimâmes |
We loved |
| Vous |
Dansâtes |
You danced |
Aimâtes |
You loved |
| Ils / elles |
Dansèrent |
They danced |
Aimèrent |
They loved |
The verbs from the second group (those that end ing "-ir")
form this tense by adding to the root of the verb the following endings:
| Je |
+ is |
| Tu |
+ is |
| Il / elle |
+ it |
| Nous |
+ îmes |
| Vous |
+ îtes |
| Ils / elles |
+ irent |
Here are a few examples:
| |
Finir |
To end/finish |
Grossir |
To put on weight |
| Je |
Finis |
I finished |
Grossis |
I put on weight |
| Tu |
Finis |
You finished |
Grossis |
You put on weight |
| Il / elle |
Finit |
He finished |
Grossit |
He put on weight |
| Nous |
Finîmes |
We finished |
Grossîmes |
We put on weight |
| Vous |
Finîtes |
You finished |
Grossîtes |
You put on weight |
| Ils / elles |
Finirent |
They finished |
Grossirent |
They put on weight |
The verbs from the third group have their own particular form for
the past simple. Therefore, it is best to learn each verb separately.
The verbs "avoir" and "être" are cojugated in
the following way:
| |
Avoir |
Être |
| Je |
Eus |
Fus |
| Tu |
Eus |
Fus |
| Il / elle |
Eut |
Fut |
| Nous |
Eûmes |
Fûmes |
| Vous |
Eûtes |
Fûtes |
| Ils / elles |
Eurent |
Furent |
VOCABULARY
l'enfant
| Pregnancy |
Grossesse (f) |
Birth |
Naissance (f) |
| Abortion |
Avortement (m) |
Labor |
Accouchement (m) |
| Maternity |
Maternité (f) |
To be born |
Naître |
| Gynecologist |
Gynécologue (m) |
To breastfeed |
Donner à téter |
| Cradle |
Berceau (m) |
Vaccination |
Vaccin (m) |
| Bottle |
Biberon (m) |
To baptise |
Baptiser |
| Nappy |
Couche (f) |
Dummy |
Sucette (f) |
| Pediatrician |
Pédiatre (m) |
Cesarean |
Césarienne(f) |
| Play school |
Jardin d'enfants(m) |
Foetus |
Foetus (m) |
| Midwife |
Sage-femme (f) |
Twins |
Jumelles (f.pl) |
| To crawl |
Marcher à quatre pattes |
|
|
