The passé simple is the tense of written stories: novels, tales, history books, sometimes newspapers. Nobody speaks it, but you must recognise it when reading. It means the same as the passé composé (a simple past: he spoke, he took). You mostly see the 3rd person.
| type | il / elle | ils / elles | examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| verbs in -er | -a | -èrent | il parla (he spoke), ils parlèrent; il alla (he went) |
| -ir, many -re | -it | -irent | il finit (finished), il prit (took), il mit (put), il fit (did), il dit (said), il vit (saw) |
| many participles in -u | -ut | -urent | il eut (had), il fut (was), il put (could), il voulut (wanted), il sut (knew), il dut (had to), il lut (read), il connut (knew), il vécut (lived), il mourut (died) |
| venir, tenir | -int | -inrent | il vint (came), ils vinrent, il tint (held) |
Full conjugation: je parlai, tu parlas, il parla, nous parlâmes, vous parlâtes, ils parlèrent. Special: naître → il naquit (he was born).
Traps: il fut = he was (not a future!). il finit, il dit look the same in the present and the passé simple: the context decides.
Example: Il ouvrit la porte et vit sa sœur. Elle fut surprise. (He opened the door and saw his sister. She was surprised.)
In old books you'll also see the imperfect subjunctive: qu'il fût, qu'il eût, qu'il parlât. Just recognise it (= subjunctive).
Translate the words from your reading, review them as flashcards and practise with gap-fill sentences.
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