Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb contre-miner

Get the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense conjugation of contre-miner. Includes a FREE downloadable reference sheet (no email required). Alternatively if you have a lot of text to check then use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!

The English translation of the French verb “contre-miner” is “to countermine.” The infinitive form “contre-miner” is pronounced as “kontruh-mee-nay.”

The verb “contre-miner” comes from the combination of the prefix “contre-” meaning “against” and the verb “miner” meaning “to mine.” In everyday French, “contre-miner” is mostly used in the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense in formal or literary contexts.

Examples of “contre-miner” in the Passé Simple tense:

  1. Les soldats contre-minèrent les fortifications ennemies. (The soldiers countermined the enemy fortifications.)
  2. Pendant la guerre, les ingénieurs contre-minèrent les champs de bataille. (During the war, the engineers countermined the battlefields.)
  3. Les forces spéciales contre-minèrent les tunnels utilisés par les terroristes. (The special forces countermined the tunnels used by terrorists.)

Please note that the Passé Simple tense is rarely used in spoken French and is mainly reserved for written or formal contexts.

Table of the Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of contre-miner

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je contremis Je contremis les plans. I countermined the plans.
Tu contremis Tu contremis la stratégie. You countermined the strategy.
Il contremit Il contremit les travaux. He countermined the works.
Elle contremit Elle contremit le projet. She countermined the project.
On contremit On contremit les mesures. One countermined the measures.
Nous contremîmes Nous contremîmes la base. We countermined the base.
Vous contremîtes Vous contremîtes les actions. You countermined the actions.
Ils contremirent Ils contremirent les plans. They countermined the plans.
Elles contremirent Elles contremirent les opérations. They (feminine) countermined the operations.

Other Conjugations for Contre-Miner.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

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

Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Conditionnel Passé II (Conditional Past II) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

L’impératif Passé (Imperative Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

L’infinitif Passé (Infinitive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Le Participe Présent (Present Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Le Participe Passé (Past Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb contre-miner

Struggling with French verbs or the language in general? Why not use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!

Get a FREE Download Study Sheet of this Conjugation 🔥

Simply right click the image below, click “save image” and get your free reference for the contre-miner Passé Simple tense conjugation! 

Contre-Miner – 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 contre-miner. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply