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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb aspirer

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The English translation of the French verb “aspirer” is “to aspire” or “to inhale”. The infinitive form “aspirer” is pronounced as /a.spi.ʁe/.

The verb “aspirer” comes from the Latin word “aspirare”, which means “to breathe, inhale”. In everyday French, it is commonly used to express the idea of aspiring to achieve something or inhaling something.

In the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense, “aspirer” is not frequently used in everyday French. However, here are three examples of its usage in this tense along with their English translations:

  1. J’aspirai à devenir un grand artiste. (I aspired to become a great artist.)
  2. Elle aspira profondément l’air frais de la montagne. (She inhaled deeply the fresh air of the mountain.)
  3. Nous aspirâmes les fumées toxiques involontairement. (We inadvertently inhaled the toxic fumes.)

Please note that the Passé Simple tense is primarily used in formal or literary writing, and in spoken language, the Passé Composé or other compound tenses are more commonly used to express actions in the past.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je aspirai J’aspirai l’air frais. I breathed in the fresh air.
Tu aspiras Tu aspiras la poussière. You vacuumed the dust.
Il aspira Il aspira le parfum. He sniffed the perfume.
Elle aspira Elle aspira la fumée. She inhaled the smoke.
On aspira On aspira le gaz. One inhaled the gas.
Nous aspirâmes Nous aspirâmes le pollen. We breathed in the pollen.
Vous aspirâtes Vous aspirâtes la solution. You sucked in the solution.
Ils aspirèrent Ils aspirèrent l’oxygène. They breathed in the oxygen.
Elles aspirèrent Elles aspirèrent l’air pollué. They (feminine) inhaled the polluted air.

Other Conjugations for Aspirer.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer (You’re reading it right now!)

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

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

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

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Conditionnel Passé II (Conditional Past II) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

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

L’impératif Passé (Imperative Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

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

L’infinitif Passé (Infinitive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Le Participe Présent (Present Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

Le Participe Passé (Past Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb aspirer

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Aspirer – 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 aspirer. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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