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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb damer

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The English translation of the French verb “damer” is “to smooth” or “to tamp down”. The infinitive form “damer” is pronounced as [da-may].

The verb “damer” comes from the Old French word “damer” meaning “to tame” or “to subdue”. In everyday French, the verb “damer” is most often used in the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense to talk about past actions that are completed and relatively distant in time.

Here are three examples of “damer” used in the Passé Simple tense with their respective English translations:

  1. Les ouvriers damèrent le sol du chantier. (The workers smoothed/tamped down the ground of the construction site.)
  2. Elle dama les feuilles du livre avant de les écrire. (She smoothed/tamped down the pages of the book before writing on them.)
  3. Nous avons damé la route pour faciliter la circulation. (We smoothed/tamped down the road to ease the traffic.)

Please note that the Passé Simple tense is mainly used in written French, particularly in literature, formal writing, or historical contexts. In spoken French, the Passé Composé or other past tenses are more commonly used.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je damai Je damai le sol. I leveled the ground.
Tu damas Tu damas la pelouse. You leveled the lawn.
Il dama Il dama le chemin. He leveled the path.
Elle dama Elle dama la route. She leveled the road.
On dama On dama le terrain. One leveled the terrain.
Nous damâmes Nous damâmes le terrain de jeu. We leveled the playground.
Vous damâtes Vous damâtes le sol. You leveled the floor.
Ils damèrent Ils damèrent le jardin. They leveled the garden.
Elles damèrent Elles damèrent la surface. They (feminine) leveled the surface.

Other Conjugations for Damer.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb damer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Damer – 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.

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