Identify tense in narratives (often main storyline events)

Distinguish from Passé Composé (common in modern speech)

Look for distinctive written endings

Often appears in 3rd person (il/elle/on, ils/elles) in novels

Frequently used with literary vocabulary and narration

-ER verbs (aimer, parler)

-IR and -RE verbs (finir, vendre): common “-i-” set

Some -RE / mixed verbs: “-u-” set (boire, connaître, courir)

In novels, endings are the fastest cue: -a/-èrent (ER), -it/-irent (i-set), -ut/-urent (u-set).

avoir: il eut, ils eurent

être: il fut, ils furent

faire: il fit, ils firent

dire: il dit, ils dirent

venir / tenir (and compounds): il vint, ils vinrent

voir: il vit, ils virent

pouvoir: il put, ils purent

vouloir: il voulut, ils voulurent

prendre: il prit, ils prirent

naître: il naquit, ils naquirent

vivre: il vécut, ils vécurent

“-èrent” strongly signals Passé Simple (-ER, 3rd plural)

“-irent” can signal Passé Simple (many -IR/-RE, 3rd plural)

“-ut / -urent” often indicates a “-u-” Passé Simple family

“il fut / il eut / il fit” are classic literary markers

Passé Simple vs Imparfait

Passé Simple vs Passé Composé

Passé Simple vs present forms that look similar

Step 1: spot the ending (-a / -it / -ut / -èrent / -irent / -urent)

Step 2: identify subject (often 3rd person) and narrative sequence

Step 3: confirm by checking if surrounding verbs are also narrative past forms