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There are two main past tenses in ordinary French: the passé composé (compound past) and the imparfait (imperfect).
The passé composé is used for narration of past events that occurred at a particular point in time. It is formed with two words--the present tense of the verb avoir (or, for some verbs, être), followed by the past participle (le participe passé) of the verb. For example:
J'ai acheté ce que vous m'avez vendu. -> I bought what you sold me.
Tu es rentré chez toi. -> You went home.
(Be aware that there are also other subtleties of forming this tense, such as the complex matter of agreement of the past participle, which I won't explain here.)
The imparfait is used for ongoing events that began in the past or for past habitual events, or for telling of past states of being rather than events. It is formed by taking the stem of the present "nous" form and adding the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. For example:
Chaque matin je me réveillais tôt. -> I woke up early each morning.
Qu'est-ce que vous disiez ? -> What were you saying?
There is also a past verb tense called the passé simple ("simple past" or "past historic") that is only used in writing. For -er verbs, it is formed by taking off the -er and adding -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent. For other verbs, you take the stem (very often similar to the past participle, but there are many exceptions) and add -s, -s, -t, -^mes, -^tes, rent. (^ represents a circumflex over the last vowel in the stem) For example:
Elle entendit tout ce que nous dîmes. -> She heard everything we said.
"Le Jour où la Terre s'arrêta" -> "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (movie title)
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
To write in the past tense in French, you typically use the passé composé, which is formed with the auxiliary verb "avoir" or "être" followed by the past participle of the main verb. For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by removing the -er, -ir, or -re ending and adding -é, -i, or -u respectively. For irregular verbs, the past participle must be memorized.
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How do you write can not in past tense?
The correct way to write "cannot" in the past tense is "could not."
What is the homophone for the past tense of write?
The homophone for the past tense of write is "wrote," pronounced as "rote."
How will i say the past tense of what did you write yesterday?
What did you write yesterday is already past tense.The auxilary verb did shows us the question is past tense. Plus yesterday shows the question is past.
What is the past tense of the French word est?
The past tense of the French word "est" is "était."
How do you write the past word for choose?
The simple past tense is chose. The past participle is chosen.
What is the present tense past tense and past particle of write?
Write is the present tense. The past tense is wrote, and the past participle is written.
What is the past tense and past participle of write?
Wrote is the past tense of write, and written is the past participle.
What is the past tense of write?
The past tense of write is wrote.The past participle of write is written.
Is write a present tense or a Past tense?
I write - this is present tense. Past tense would be I wrote. However, the infinitive "to write" is always present tense. It must be accompanied with a present, future or past tense finite verb. I like to write I will like to write I liked to write
What is the past perfect tense form of 'write'?
"Had written" is the past perfect tense of "write".
Is writ the past tense of write?
No. Wrote is the past tense
How do you write can not in past tense?
The correct way to write "cannot" in the past tense is "could not."
What is the homophone for the past tense of write?
The homophone for the past tense of write is "wrote," pronounced as "rote."
What is the past and future tense of write?
The past tense is wrote; the future tense is will write.
How will i say the past tense of what did you write yesterday?
What did you write yesterday is already past tense.The auxilary verb did shows us the question is past tense. Plus yesterday shows the question is past.
What is the past tense and the past participle for write?
'Wrote' is the past tense and 'written' is the past participle.
What is the present tense of write?
The present tense word for write is just "write" and past tense is wrote.
