4 Simple Past French Exercises

Bonjour, mon cher étudiant! It is I, your favourite French teacher, known for my knack for transforming the most complex grammar rules into a piece of Brie cheese – soft and easy to digest!

Today, we’re about to embark on a journey to explore the wonders of “Le passé simple,” the simple past tense, which is not as simple as it sounds, but fear not! It is most used in historical and formal writing.

Together, we’ll tame this wild French grammar beast. After all, it’s just like eating snails – tricky at first, but you’ll get the hang of it, trust me!

 

 

1) Put the Sentences in the Correct Order – French Simple Past

 

a) fait / du / nous / avons / camping

Nous avons fait du camping.

 

b) ai / mangé / une / pomme / je

 

c) tu / allé / es / au / cinéma

 

d) ils / sont / partis / en / vacances

 

e) a / il / plu / hier

 

f) avons / terminé / le / nous / travail

 

g) a / lu / le / livre / elle

 

h) as-tu / le / film / vu / ?

 

i) arrivés / ils / tard / sont

 

j) avez-vous / de / manger / fini / ?

 

k) a / on / joué / tennis / au

 

l) elles / vendu / leur / maison / ont / ?

 

2) Translate these Sentences – French Simple Past Exercises

 

a) I ate an apple.

J’ai mangé une pomme.

 

b) You went to the cinema.

 

c) He drank water.

 

d) She read a book.

 

e) We finished the work.

 

f) They sold their house.

 

g) Did you see the movie?

 

h) We played tennis.

 

i) He arrived late.

 

j) She sold her car.

 

k) Did you finish eating?

 

l) They went on vacation.

 

3) Practice your Vocabulary

 

a) ate – drank – read

mangé – bu – lu

 

b) sold - arrived - went

 

c) finished - started - played

 

d) ran - walked - swam

 

e) fell - rose - sat

 

f) listened - watched - followed

 

g) lived - died - was born

 

h) wrote - drew - painted

 

4) Practice Your Writing by Translating these Small Texts

 

I went to the market. I bought apples and oranges. I saw my friend there. We had a coffee together. Then I returned home.

 

She read a book. She cooked dinner. She watched a movie. Then she went to bed.

 

5) About French Simple Past, Guess the Questions to the Answers

 

a) J’ai mangé une pomme. ( Qu’est-ce…)

Qu’est-ce que tu as mangé?

 

b) Je suis allé au cinéma. ( Où...)

 

c) Il a bu de l'eau. ( Qu'est-ce...)

 

d) Elle a lu un livre. ( Qu'est-ce...)

 

e) Nous avons terminé le travail. ( Qu'est-ce...)

 

f) Ils ont vendu leur maison. ( Qu'est-ce...)

 

g) Nous avons joué au tennis. ( Qu'est-ce...)

 

h) Il est arrivé tard. ( Quand...)

 

i) Elle a vendu sa voiture. ( Qu'est-ce...)

 

j) Ils sont partis en vacances. ( Où...)

 

And voila! That, my wonderful student, was your whirlwind tour of the French simple past tense. I hope your brain isn’t as twisted as a pretzel now.

Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be using “le passé simple” as smoothly as a Frenchman orders his café au lait.

 

Practice Simple Future➚

Practice Subjunctive➚

Practice Conjunctions➚