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### Once Upon a Time: The Passé Simple

If you read a French novel, a history book, or a classic fairy tale, you will encounter a past tense that is almost never spoken aloud: the **passé simple** (simple past).

In everyday spoken French, you use the *passé composé* for completed past actions (like *il a attaqué*). In formal writing, the *passé simple* takes its place. You do not need to memorize how to conjugate this tense to speak French, but recognizing it is essential for reading.

### The Third-Person Singular

Because stories are usually told in the third person, you will most frequently see the forms for **il** (he), **elle** (she), or **on** (one).

For regular **-er** verbs, the third-person singular simply ends in **-a**.

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For regular **-ir** and **-re** verbs, the third-person singular ends in **-it**.

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Once you can spot these endings, reading the action sequences in classic stories becomes much easier!

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### The Third-Person Plural

When multiple characters take action (**ils** or **elles**), the *passé simple* endings change.

- Regular **-er** verbs end in **-èrent**.
- Regular **-ir** and **-re** verbs end in **-irent**.

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The literary past tense for regular verbs (il parla)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the dragon	le dragon
the kingdom	le royaume
A long time ago, a dragon attacked the kingdom.	Il y a longtemps, un dragon attaqua le royaume.
the beast	la bête
The beast closed the castle door and stayed there.	La bête ferma la porte du château et resta là.
the witch	la sorcière
the princess	la princesse
The witch looked at the princess and shouted.	La sorcière regarda la princesse et cria.
the fairy	la fée
The fairy heard the princess cry in the forest.	La fée entendit la princesse pleurer dans la forêt.
the knight	le chevalier
the sword (f)	l'épée
The knight found the magic sword under the tree.	Le chevalier trouva l'épée magique sous l'arbre.
to kill	tuer
He used the sword and killed the dragon.	Il utilisa l'épée et tua le dragon.
the prince	le prince
The brave prince attacked the beast.	Le prince courageux attaqua la bête.
The prince killed the monster to which the witch spoke.	Le prince tua le monstre auquel la sorcière parla.
The witch never forgave the prince.	La sorcière ne pardonna jamais au prince.
to marry	épouser
Finally, the prince married the princess.	Finalement, le prince épousa la princesse.
The prince and the princess met the fairy.	Le prince et la princesse rencontrèrent la fée.
The knights defended the kingdom.	Les chevaliers défendirent le royaume.
The parents cried when their daughter married the king.	Les parents pleurèrent quand leur fille épousa le roi.