Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb aberrer

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The English translation of the French verb aberrer is “to stray” or “to deviate”. It is pronounced ah-beh-ray.

Aberrer comes from the Latin verb aberrare, meaning “to wander off” or “to go astray”. It is most often used in everyday French in the passé simple (simple past) tense, which is a literary tense used to describe completed actions in the past.

Here are three simple examples of aberrer used in the passé simple tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Il aberra de son chemin et se retrouva perdu dans la forêt. (He strayed from his path and found himself lost in the forest.)
  2. Elle aberra de la vérité et mentit à sa famille. (She deviated from the truth and lied to her family.)
  3. Les soldats aberrèrent de leur mission et attaquèrent le village voisin. (The soldiers went astray from their mission and attacked the neighboring village.)

Table of the Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of aberrer

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je aberrai J’aberrai de la norme. I deviated from the norm.
Tu aberras Tu aberras de ta route. You deviated from your path.
Il aberra Il aberra de sa promesse. He broke his promise.
Elle aberra Elle aberra de son régime. She strayed from her diet.
On aberra On aberra de la vérité. One deviated from the truth.
Nous aberrâmes Nous aberrâmes de la tradition. We strayed from tradition.
Vous aberrâtes Vous aberrâtes du sujet. You deviated from the subject.
Ils aberrèrent Ils aberrèrent de leur plan initial. They deviated from their initial plan.
Elles aberrèrent Elles aberrèrent de leur chemin. They (feminine) deviated from their path.

Other Conjugations for Aberrer.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer    (this article)

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aberrer

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Aberrer – About the French Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense

The French Passé Simple, also known as the Simple Past or Preterite, is a past tense used in written French to describe completed actions that took place at a specific point in the past.
It is not commonly used in everyday spoken language, where the Passé Composé is the preferred past tense. The Passé Simple is mainly found in literature, formal writing, and historical contexts. It has a somewhat limited use in modern French, and its conjugation can be complex.
NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see our article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation

The Passé Simple is formed by conjugating the verb according to its specific endings for regular and irregular verbs. The endings typically vary based on the verb group (i.e., -er, -ir, or -re). For example:
   – For regular -er verbs (e.g., manger, parler): Remove the -er ending and add appropriate endings, like -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent.
   – For regular -ir verbs (e.g., finir, choisir): Remove the -ir ending and add endings like -is, -is, -it, -îmes, -îtes, -irent.
   – For regular -re verbs (e.g., vendre, attendre): Remove the -re ending and add endings like -is, -is, -it, -îmes, -îtes, -irent.

Usage

Narration

The Passé Simple is commonly used in literature to describe past events in a narrative or storytelling context.

Historical Context

It can be used in historical writing or documents to discuss events that took place in the past.
Formal Writing
In formal or academic writing, especially in essays or reports, you might encounter the Passé Simple.

Interactions with other tenses

Passé Composé

In everyday spoken French, the Passé Composé is the go-to tense for describing completed actions in the past. The Passé Simple is not commonly used in spoken language and is often replaced by the Passé Composé.
 

Imparfait

While the Passé Simple focuses on completed actions in the past, the Imparfait is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past. They can sometimes be used together to provide a more detailed past narrative. For example, “Il lisait un livre quand il reçut un appel.” (He was reading a book when he received a call).

Conditional and Subjunctive

The Passé Simple can also be found in the conditional and subjunctive moods in formal writing. For instance, “Il faudrait qu’il partît” (He should leave, subjunctive).

Summary

The French Passé Simple is primarily used in formal or literary contexts, and its conjugation can be quite complex. In everyday spoken French, the Passé Composé is the preferred past tense for describing completed actions.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb aberrer. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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