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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb décoller

Get the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense conjugation of décoller. 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 décoller is “to take off.” The infinitive form, décoller, is pronounced as “dey-koh-leh.”

The word décoller comes from the combination of the prefix “dé-” (meaning “up” or “off”) and the verb “coller” (meaning “to stick”). It is primarily used in the context of aviation to express the action of an aircraft taking off.

In everyday French, the Passé Simple tense is considered more formal and is commonly used in written language, literature, or historical contexts. However, it is less frequently used in spoken French. In the Passé Simple tense, décoller is conjugated as follows:

  1. Je décollai – I took off
  2. Tu décollas – You (informal) took off
  3. Il/elle décolla – He/she took off

Here are three examples of décoller in the Passé Simple tense with their respective English translations:

  1. L’avion décolla à l’heure prévue. – The plane took off at the scheduled time.
  2. Les oiseaux décollèrent en formation. – The birds took off in formation.
  3. Hier, nous décollâmes de Paris pour rejoindre New York. – Yesterday, we took off from Paris to reach New York.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je décollai Je décollai de l’aéroport. I took off from the airport.
Tu décollas Tu décollas à l’heure prévue. You took off on time.
Il décolla Il décolla avec succès. He took off successfully.
Elle décolla Elle décolla sans encombre. She took off smoothly.
On décolla On décolla malgré le mauvais temps. One took off despite the bad weather.
Nous décollâmes Nous décollâmes à midi. We took off at noon.
Vous décollâtes Vous décollâtes de la piste. You took off from the runway.
Ils décollèrent Ils décollèrent ensemble. They took off together.
Elles décollèrent Elles décollèrent vers Paris. They (feminine) took off towards Paris.

Other Conjugations for Décoller.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb décoller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 décoller Passé Simple tense conjugation! 

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

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply