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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb colporter

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The English translation of the French verb colporter is “to peddle” or “to hawk.” The infinitive form of colporter is pronounced as “kohl-por-tey.”

The word colporter originated from the combination of two French words: “col” meaning “neck” and “porter” meaning “to carry.” It refers to the act of carrying goods to sell or distribute them. In everyday French, colporter is used to describe the action of selling or peddling goods, often in a door-to-door manner.

In the Passé Simple tense, which is a literary and formal past tense in French, colporter is conjugated as follows:

  • Je colportai (I peddled)
  • Tu colportas (You peddled)
  • Il/elle/on colporta (He/she/one peddled)

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

  1. J’étais un jeune garçon lorsqu’un homme colporta des livres dans notre village. (I was a young boy when a man peddled books in our village.)
  2. Elle colporta ses bijoux rares lors de la foire annuelle. (She peddled her rare jewelry at the annual fair.)
  3. Les marchands colportèrent leurs produits à travers les rues de la ville. (The merchants peddled their products through the city streets.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je colportai Je colportai des nouvelles. I spread rumors.
Tu colportas Tu colportas les ragots. You spread gossip.
Il colporta Il colporta les rumeurs. He spread rumors.
Elle colporta Elle colporta les potins. She spread rumors.
On colporta On colporta les mensonges. One spread lies.
Nous colportâmes Nous colportâmes les histoires. We spread stories.
Vous colportâtes Vous colportâtes les rumeurs. You spread rumors.
Ils colportèrent Ils colportèrent les ragots. They spread gossip.
Elles colportèrent Elles colportèrent les potins. They (feminine) spread rumors.

Other Conjugations for Colporter.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb colporter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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