The passé simple • The passé simple is a past tense that is used primarily in historical and literary

texts. It takes the place of the passé composé in such texts. • Form the passé simple by replacing the infinitive endings with passé simple

endings. Note that -re and -ir verbs take the same endings. -er verbs: -ai -as -a -âmes -âtes -èrent -re/-ir verbs: -is -is -it -îmes -îtes -irent • Verbs that are irregular in the passé simple take one of two sets of endings that are

often based on their past participle. (mettre/mis-group 1; boire/bu-group 2) group 1 -is -is it -îmes -îtes -irent group 2 -us -us -ut -ûmes -ûtes -urent • Some common irregulars have their own particular stems, but use the group 1 or

group 2 endings: avoir eus être fus faire fis • The verb venir is completely irregular: vins vins vint vînmes vîntes vinrent

Relative pronouns with ce • The phrases ce que, ce qui and ce dont may all be translated as “what” meaning

“the thing(s) that.” Tu sais ce que j’aime? Do you know what I like? Tu sais ce qui est arrivé? Do you know what happened? Tu sais ce dont j’ai besoin? Do you know what I need? • Determine which phrase to use by its grammatical function in the sentence: ce qui acts as the subject of the dependent clause and is followed by a verb. Est-ce que vous savez ce qui est arrivé? ce que (ce qu’) acts as the direct object of the dependent clause and is

followed by a subject+verb. Je ne comprends pas ce que tu dis. ce dont acts as the object of the preposition de and replaces it in the

dependent clause. Il me demande ce dont j’ai besoin.

Lycée Inglemoor Français niveau 300 guide de chapitre 3 M. de Gorgue

1

Adjective placement and meaning • You have learned that qualifying adjectives in French generally follow the nouns

they modify, whereas quantifying adjectives generally precede them. Il a un tapis volant. Nous avons fait plusieurs souhaits. • The qualifying adjectives bon, mauvais, joli, beau, jeune, vieux, grand*

and petit are exceptions and precede the nouns they modify. • Some adjectives may go either before or after the noun, with a resulting

change in meaning. Some examples are: ancien former/ancient grand great/tall or big* certain some/sure sale nasty/dirty dernier last/previous seul only/lonely propre own/clean vrai real/true pauvre poor (unfortunate)/poor (destitute) cher dear/expensive (*grand = tall, big when placed before an inanimate object or after a person.)

Lycée Inglemoor Français niveau 300 guide de chapitre 3 M. de Gorgue

2

The past perfect • Use the past perfect to say that one past event preceded another. • Use the past perfect for the action that occurred first and passé composé for the

action, which occurred after the first. passé composé past perfect Quand je suis arrivé chez eux, ils avaient déjà déjeuné. second action first action When I arrived at their house, they had already eaten lunch. • Form the past perfect exactly as you form the passé composé (a helping verb of

avoir or être followed by a past participle), but put the helping verb in the imparfait.

passé composé: Ils se sont regardés. past perfect: Ils s’étaient regardés. NOTE: The word déjà is sometimes added to the sentence to emphasize that

the action in the past perfect had already happened.

Lycée Inglemoor Français niveau 300 guide de chapitre 3 M. de Gorgue

3

Sequence of tenses in indirect discourse • Use indirect discourse to tell what a person says or said.

The tense of the verb in the dependent clause must correspond correctly to the tense of the verb in the main clause. This is referred to as sequence of tenses.

The following chart demonstrates sequences that may occur:

Main clause Dependent clause Present Il dit... Present qu’il le fait

erutuF qu’il le fera ésopmoc éssaP qu’il a fini

Imperfect qu’il finissait Passé composé Il a dit... Imperfect qu’il finissait

lanoitidnoC qu’il finirait tcefrep tsaP qu’il avait finit

The past infinitive • Use the past infinitive to say that one action occurred before another. Present infinitive: Il est content de t'aider. He is happy to help you today. Past infinitive: Il est content de t’avoir aidé. He is happy to have helped you. • Form the past infinitive by using the infinitive of the appropriate helping verb (avoir or être) followed by the past participle of the main verb. • All rules of past participle agreement apply. Après s’être levée, elle a fait le lit.

4

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Lycée Inglemoor Français niveau 300 guide de chapitre 3 M. de Gorgue