When describing actions in the past, French is similar to English, but it’s also significantly different. To get on top, a little bit of theory can help.
Tenses, Moods and Aspects
Sentences with verbs typically have a subject – the person doing the action – and a predicate, the action. So in the English sentence:
I | go to the shops.
I is the subject and go to the shops is the predicate. I go is the present tense. I went is the past tense. They are the description of the event in its pure form. Some academics argue there are just two tenses in English, the present and the past. All other ways of talking about “going to the shops” are built around these tenses, using add-on verbs or auxiliaries.
Aspect auxiliaries can situate the action in time:
I used to go to the shops – describes repetition in the past
or relate them to our present situation:
I have been to the shops – describes an action in the past which is related to the present context.
I will go to the shops – says that in the future “I go to the shops” will be true.
Moods add a value judgement:
I might go to the shops – is an assessment about whether “I go to the shops” will be true in the future or not.
Le Passé Simple
The French Passé Simple is in some ways the equivalent of the English Simple Past. It describes a past event in a pure form. There is no auxiliary providing a contextual point of view.
For this reason it is often used in storytelling to plunge the reader into the heart of the action. In this extract from Le Chien Jaune by Georges Simenon, the verbs in Le passé simple are in red:
Maigret regarda à travers les vitres. Il ne pleuvait plus, mais les rues étaient pleines de boue noire et le vent continuait à souffler avec violence. Le ciel était d’un gris livide.
Des gens revenaient de la messe. Presque tous avaient Le Phare de Brest à la main. Et tous les visages se tournaient vers l’hôtel de l’Amiral tandis que maints passants pressaient le pas.
Il y avait certes quelque chose de mort dans la ville. Mais n’en était-il pas ainsi tous les dimanches matin? La sonnerie du téléphone résonna à nouveau. On entendit Emma qui répondait :
“Je ne sais pas, monsieur… Je ne suis pas au courant… Voulez-vous que j’appelle le commissaire?… Allô!… Allô!… On a coupé…
– Qu’est-ce que c’est? grogna Maigret.
Le passé simple is also used in sports reports. The following example from L’Equipe illustrates the difference between Le passé simple and Le passé composé. When the reporter is making general observations or value judgements, he uses Le passé composé. When he homes in on a specific phase of the game, he makes a switch to Le passé simple. The moment of transition occurs inside a single sentence:
Mathieu Bastareaud a effectué un retour tonitruant. Ses percussions ont soulevé l’admiration du public marseillais. Comme s’il jouait à domicile, «Basta rocket», qui a terminé capitaine après la sortie de Guirado, a réalisé plusieurs offloads (passe après contact) qui mirent les Italiens en difficulté. L’une d’elle envoya Hugo Bonneval à l’essai (60e), ce qui eut le mérite de déverrouiller ce match. Et c’est presque naturellement qu’il inscrivit le troisième essai français (73e), en force évidemment. Le quatrième de sa carrière, point d’orgue d’une performance personnelle aboutie, vendredi soir. En tout cas un ton au-dessus de celles de ses coéquipiers.
Spoken conversation
If the French Passé Simple resembles the English Simple Past in meaning – its scope is much more limited.
The French Passé Simple is almost never used in spoken French: Le Passé Composé (with the auxiliary avoir or être) is preferred. And even in written French, Le Passé Composé is often used where in English we would use a simple tense.
So because we cannot map the English Simple Past onto the French Passé Simple, it’s only by familiarising ourselves with usage that we can learn to master it. Look out for Le Passé Simple in your reading. There are many irregular roots but the endings are quite recognisable:
-ai,-as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent
-is, -is, -it, -îmes, -îtes, -irent
-us, -us, -ut, -ûmes, -ûtes, -urent
-ins, -ins, -int, -înmes, -întes, -inrent
To explore further, you can also listen to Françoise’s audio lesson on the subject.
