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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contaminer

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The English translation of the French verb “contaminer” is “to contaminate.” The infinitive form of “contaminer” is pronounced as “kawn-tah-mee-nay.”

“Contaminer” comes from the Latin word “contaminare,” which means “to pollute.” It is commonly used in everyday French in the Passé Simple tense, although this tense is mostly used in written language rather than spoken language.

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

  1. Le virus contamina les habitants du village. (The virus contaminated the villagers.)
  2. La pollution contamina les eaux de la rivière. (The pollution contaminated the river waters.)
  3. Les aliments contaminèrent l’ensemble du stock. (The food contaminated the entire stock.)

Note: In everyday spoken French, the most commonly used tense to talk about past events would be the Passé Composé tense.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je contaminai J’ai contaminé l’eau potable. I contaminated the drinking water.
Tu contaminas Tu as contaminé l’aliment. You contaminated the food.
Il contamina Il a contaminé la région. He contaminated the region.
Elle contamina Elle a contaminé l’air. She contaminated the air.
On contamina On a contaminé la terre. One contaminated the land.
Nous contaminâmes Nous avons contaminé le sol. We contaminated the soil.
Vous contaminâtes Vous avez contaminé le médicament. You contaminated the medicine.
Ils contaminèrent Ils ont contaminé le corps. They contaminated the body.
Elles contaminèrent Elles ont contaminé la population. They (feminine) contaminated the population.

Other Conjugations for Contaminer.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contaminer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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