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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb captiver

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The English translation of the French verb “captiver” is “to captivate” or “to mesmerize”. The infinitive form of “captiver” is pronounced as “kap-tee-vay”.

The word “captiver” comes from the Latin word “captivare”, which means “to take captive”. In everyday French, “captiver” is commonly used in the Passé Simple tense to describe actions or events that occurred in the past. However, it is important to note that the Passé Simple is an outdated verb tense in spoken French and is mainly used in formal writing, literature, or historical contexts.

Here are three simple examples of “captiver” in the Passé Simple tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Il captiva son public avec son discours enflammé.
    (He captivated his audience with his passionate speech.)

  2. L’actrice captiva le monde entier par sa performance exceptionnelle.
    (The actress captivated the entire world with her outstanding performance.)

  3. Les paysages magnifiques de la région nous captivèrent lors de notre voyage.
    (The magnificent landscapes of the region captivated us during our trip.)

Please note that while the Passé Simple tense is used in written French, in spoken language the more commonly used past tense is the Passé Composé.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je captivai Je captivai le public avec mon discours. I captivated the audience with my speech.
Tu captivas Tu captivas l’auditeur avec ta voix. You captivated the listener with your voice.
Il captiva Il captiva son audience avec sa performance. He captivated his audience with his performance.
Elle captiva Elle captiva le lecteur avec son histoire. She captivated the reader with her story.
On captiva On captiva les spectateurs avec le film. One captivated the spectators with the movie.
Nous captivâmes Nous captivâmes nos amis avec notre danse. We captivated our friends with our dance.
Vous captivâtes Vous captivâtes votre public avec votre chant. You captivated your audience with your singing.
Ils captivèrent Ils captivèrent les enfants avec leur histoire. They captivated the children with their story.
Elles captivèrent Elles captivèrent les étudiants avec leur présentation. They (feminine) captivated the students with their presentation.

Other Conjugations for Captiver.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb captiver

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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