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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décoincer

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The English translation of the French verb “décoincer” is “to loosen up” or “to unstuck”. The pronunciation of the infinitive form “décoincer” is [de-kwɛ̃.se].

The word “décoincer” is derived from the prefix “dé-” meaning “un-” or “de-” in English, and the verb “coincer” meaning “to get stuck” or “to be jammed”. It is commonly used in everyday French to describe the action of freeing or dislodging something that is stuck, or to describe a person’s behavior of becoming less tense or more relaxed.

In the Passé Simple tense, which is a literary past tense used in formal or written French, “décoincer” is conjugated as follows:

  • J’ai décoincé (I loosened up)
  • Tu décoinceras (You loosened up)
  • Il/elle décoincera (He/she loosened up)
  • Nous décoincèrent (We loosened up)
  • Vous décoincerez (You loosened up)
  • Ils/elles décoincèrent (They loosened up)

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

  1. Hier soir, il décoincèrent enfin et se mit à danser. (Last night, he finally loosened up and started dancing.)
  2. La clé décoincèrent la serrure rouillée. (The key loosened up the rusty lock.)
  3. Quand ils arrivèrent à la plage, les enfants décoincèrent et commencèrent à jouer joyeusement. (When they arrived at the beach, the children loosened up and started playing happily.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je décoinçus Je décoinçus la porte. I unjammed the door.
Tu décoinçus Tu décoinçus le tiroir. You unjammed the drawer.
Il décoinça Il décoinça la serrure. He unjammed the lock.
Elle décoinça Elle décoinça le frein à main. She unjammed the handbrake.
On décoinça On décoinça la situation. One unjammed the situation.
Nous décoinçûmes Nous décoinçûmes la porte. We unjammed the door.
Vous décoinçûtes Vous décoinçûtes le robinet. You unjammed the faucet.
Ils décoincèrent Ils décoincèrent le mécanisme. They unjammed the mechanism.
Elles décoincèrent Elles décoincèrent la fenêtre. They (feminine) unjammed the window.

Other Conjugations for Décoincer.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décoincer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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