Breakdown of Finalement, le prince épousa la princesse.
finalement
finally / in the end
la princesse
the princess
le prince
the prince
épouser
to marry
Questions & Answers about Finalement, le prince épousa la princesse.
Why does épousa end in an -a instead of a normal past tense ending?
épousa is in the passé simple (simple past), a tense mostly used in written stories and literature. For regular -er verbs like épouser (to marry), the third-person singular form simply drops the -er and adds -a. In everyday spoken French, you would use the passé composé and say a épousé instead.
Why isn't there an avec (with) or à (to) after épousa?
In French, épouser is a direct verb, meaning it takes a direct object without any prepositions. Just like in English where you marry someone (not marry with someone), in French you simply say épouser quelqu'un.
Since this is a story, why use the passé simple here instead of the imparfait (épousait)?
In literature, the passé simple does the exact same job as the passé composé does in speech: it shows a single, completed action that moves the plot forward. The wedding is a finished event. If you used the imparfait (épousait), it would mean he was in the middle of marrying her as a background event, or that he used to marry her.
Can I use finalement anytime I want to say finally?
Not quite. In a story like this where it means in the end or ultimately, finalement is the perfect word. However, if you are saying finally to mean the last step in a sequence (such as first, then, finally), you will usually use enfin instead.
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