Conjugate all French -er verbs - including "aller" - in the historic past (Le Passé simple)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2023-01-09
25 questions

You've already learnt how to recognise -er verbs in Le Passé Simple (Indicatif). Let's find out how to conjugate them and aller in Le Passé Simple.

Learn how to conjugate -er verbs and ALLER (to go) in Le Passé Simple (Indicatif) in French

Look at these examples:

Un jour, j'arrivai dans un petit village.One day, I arrived in a tiny village.

Quand tu rencontras Sarah, elle avait dix-huit ans.When you met Sarah, she was eighteen.

Alors, le chevalier libéra la princesse.Then, the knight freed the princess.

On se reposa ensuite pendant quelques heures.We then relaxed for a few hours.

Ce jour-là, nous allâmes tous au château.That day, we all went to the castle.

Vous et vos amis dansâtes toute la nuit.You and your friends danced all night.

To conjugate -er  verbs in Le Passé Simple (Indicatif), here is what to do:

Stem of the verb (without -ER) + endings: -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent

Note that the endings of the je/tu/il/elle/on forms (-ai, -as, -a) are the same as the Le Futur Simple (Indicatif) endings.

The difference between the two tenses is that in Le Futur Simple (Indicatif), you keep the infinitive as the stem (je parler-ai), or use an irregular stem for aller (j'ir-ai), whereas in Le Passé Simple (Indicatif), you remove the -ER from the stem (je parl-ai).

Case of -CER, -GER and -GUER verbs

-CER and -GER verbs take ç or an extra e, respectively, in front of -a, but not in front of -è, while -GUER verbs take gu- in all forms:

Les célébrations commencèrent à sept heures, mais le feu d'artifice ne commença que vers dix heures.The celebrations started at seven, but the fireworks only started around ten.

Tu mangeas dans ta chambre, tandis qu'ils mangèrent dans la salle à manger.You ate in your room, while they ate in the dining room.

Il se fatigua vite, mais ils ne fatiguèrent qu'à la fin de la journée.He got tired quickly, but they only tired at the end of the day.
  

Pronunciation:
The tricky part here is that the je form (j'arrivai) has the same pronunciation as the L'Imparfait (Indicatif) form j'arrivais. However, since Le Passé Simple (Indicatif) is an almost exclusively written form, this should not be an obstacle to conversation!

Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Examples and resources

Tu mangeas dans ta chambre, tandis qu'ils mangèrent dans la salle à manger.You ate in your room, while they ate in the dining room.
Il se fatigua vite, mais ils ne fatiguèrent qu'à la fin de la journée.He got tired quickly, but they only tired at the end of the day.
Les célébrations commencèrent à sept heures, mais le feu d'artifice ne commença que vers dix heures.The celebrations started at seven, but the fireworks only started around ten.
I'll be right with you...