Why I did not mention the Passe simple
A reader commented that my method to learn French conjugation easily (hum..., let's say as easily as possible) did not mention the passe simple.
His remark proved that he knew something about French verbs (not that common!) and deserved a reply. Later, I thought that it could be useful for someone else.
His remark proved that he knew something about French verbs (not that common!) and deserved a reply. Later, I thought that it could be useful for someone else.
Greener Grass
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byEven French verbs are no longer what they used to be.
It is true that I did not take the "passé simple" into account when I elaborate my page about French conjugations. And for a good reason: anyone who would utter a verb in the passe simple would be laughed at; that is not exactly what I aim at for my students. The passé simple has disappeared from spoken French, and hardly still exists in written French. It is competing with the imperfect of the subjunctive for making people ridiculous.
I teach useable French, leveraging the 20% / 80% rule as much as possible. And anyway, in case of need, my students are perfectly able to make guess.
If they know the verb "chanter" in all the useable and useful tenses of all the useable and useful moods (and they do, since I teach them how to build up a conjugation) and come accross "l'homme chanta" in a novel (since the passé simple appears almost only in novels), even if they do not know exactly at what time the man sings, they know that it is about singing. And thanks to the context, they know it is about singing in the past.
They will never have to write it, except for quoting an author; in that case, they just have to copy. And since they are sensible, they will refrain from pronouncing it.
(I do not apply the Pareto principle during the seminars "French for teachers" that, as the name explains, are for teachers of French: people who know everything that has to be known about French conjugations.)
Byt the way, in the article entitled "Can you remember 100 French words", I did not mention the compound compound tenses either. These are compound tenses in which the auxiliary verb is also conjugated in a compound tense (and I have no idea how to translate: temps surcomposé!). Ok, an example will be easier to understand:
Compound tense: j'ai fini mon repas;
Compound compound tense: j'ai eu fini mon repas.
If you learn French, you have learned how to conjugate the auxiliary verbs. Then, for compound tenses, you apply the same pattern, again and again: you conjugate the auxiliary verb, and add the past participle of the significative verb.
Let's face the truth: compound compound tenses (or whatever the name in English) are far from being overused.
I teach useable French, leveraging the 20% / 80% rule as much as possible. And anyway, in case of need, my students are perfectly able to make guess.
If they know the verb "chanter" in all the useable and useful tenses of all the useable and useful moods (and they do, since I teach them how to build up a conjugation) and come accross "l'homme chanta" in a novel (since the passé simple appears almost only in novels), even if they do not know exactly at what time the man sings, they know that it is about singing. And thanks to the context, they know it is about singing in the past.
They will never have to write it, except for quoting an author; in that case, they just have to copy. And since they are sensible, they will refrain from pronouncing it.
(I do not apply the Pareto principle during the seminars "French for teachers" that, as the name explains, are for teachers of French: people who know everything that has to be known about French conjugations.)
Byt the way, in the article entitled "Can you remember 100 French words", I did not mention the compound compound tenses either. These are compound tenses in which the auxiliary verb is also conjugated in a compound tense (and I have no idea how to translate: temps surcomposé!). Ok, an example will be easier to understand:
Compound tense: j'ai fini mon repas;
Compound compound tense: j'ai eu fini mon repas.
If you learn French, you have learned how to conjugate the auxiliary verbs. Then, for compound tenses, you apply the same pattern, again and again: you conjugate the auxiliary verb, and add the past participle of the significative verb.
Let's face the truth: compound compound tenses (or whatever the name in English) are far from being overused.
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The French passe simple is past
by GabrielleG
http://www.frenchcoursebyfrenchteacher.com I'm a French teacher. I've been living in Chile since Juanuary 2008. I teach at the Art and Language Instit... (more)
