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

Introduction to the verb départager

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The English translation of the French verb “départager” is “to decide between/to settle” in the context of settling a dispute or making a choice. The infinitive form of “départager” is pronounced as [de-pahr-ta-zhe].

The verb “départager” originates from the combination of the prefix “dé-” (meaning “to undo” or “to separate”) and the word “partage” (meaning “sharing” or “division”). It is commonly used in everyday French to refer to the act of deciding between two or more options, or settling a disagreement by making a choice.

In the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense, “départager” is used to describe specific actions or events that occurred in the past, particularly in formal or written contexts. Here are three examples of its usage in this tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Ils départagèrent les finalistes en se basant sur leurs performances.
    (They decided between the finalists based on their performances.)

  2. Les juges départagèrent les équipes en fonction de leurs stratégies.
    (The judges settled the teams’ dispute based on their strategies.)

  3. Le comité départagea les candidats selon leurs qualifications.
    (The committee decided between the candidates based on their qualifications.)

Please note that the Passé Simple tense is rarely used in spoken French, except in formal or literary contexts.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je départageai J’ai départagé l’affaire. I settled the case.
Tu départageas Tu départageas les concurrents. You settled the competitors.
Il départagea Il départagea les équipes. He settled the teams.
Elle départagea Elle départagea les candidats. She settled the candidates.
On départagea On départagea les participants. One settled the participants.
Nous départageâmes Nous départageâmes les ex-aequo. We settled the tie.
Vous départageâtes Vous départageâtes les finalistes. You settled the finalists.
Ils départagèrent Ils départagèrent les gagnants. They settled the winners.
Elles départagèrent Elles départagèrent les vainqueurs. They (feminine) settled the winners.

Other Conjugations for Départager.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb départager

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Départager – 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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