passé
/pa.se/masculine
The English phrase "past tense" is passé in French.
passé is a masculine noun referring to the grammatical form known as the past tense.
Meaning: grammatical form (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate that a verb is in the past tense, use the phrase au passé.
How do you pronounce it?
/pa.se/
Did you know?
- French speakers may use the passé composé to express a future event that is so certain it is treated as if it has already happened.
- French has a literary past tense called the passé simple that is almost never spoken. You will encounter it in novels and history books, but using it in a conversation would sound like you are reciting a fairy tale.
- In French, if you describe someone as being passé, you aren't talking about their grammar but suggesting they are 'out of date' or 'old-fashioned'.
Examples in context
- Tom affirmait, à en juger par le verbe devant lui, que la phrase était au passé tandis que Mary voyant le participe sous ses yeux, jurait que c'était un présent.Tom was asserting, judging by the verb in front of him, that the sentence was past tense, while Mary, seeing the gerundive under her eyes, was swearing it was a present.This sentence is useful for seeing how to describe a verb being au passé.Tatoeba #1089171 by sacredceltic, translation #1778633 by sacredceltic
- J'ai mangé un délicieux gâteau hier soir.I ate a delicious cake last night.
- Tu as fini tes devoirs ce matin.You finished your homework this morning.
- Il a regardé un bon film hier.He watched a good movie yesterday.
- Je suis allé(e) au cinéma hier soir.I went to the cinema last night.
- Elle est tombée de vélo ce matin.She fell off her bike this morning.
- Nous sommes arrivés en retard à la réunion.We arrived late to the meeting.
- Hier, je mangeai un délicieux repas.Yesterday, I ate a delicious meal.
- Il vint me voir à ma porte.He came to see me at my door.
- Ce verbe est au passé.This verb is in the past tense.
- Il faut utiliser le passé pour ce récit.One must use the past tense for this story.
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are studying French grammar together.
- LucasEst-ce que ce mot est au passé ?Is this word in the past tense?
- ManonOui, Lucas, c'est le passé composé.Yes, Lucas, it is the passé composé.
- LucasC'est difficile à comprendre.It is difficult to understand.
- ManonNe t'inquiète pas, tu vas réussir.Don't worry, you will succeed.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “past tense” translations and entries passé, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
