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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb deviner

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The English translation of the French verb “deviner” is “to guess.” The infinitive form of deviner is pronounced as “de-vi-ney.”

The verb “deviner” comes from the Latin word “divinare,” which means “to foretell” or “to predict.” In everyday French, it is commonly used in the Passé Simple tense, which is the literary and formal past tense used in writing and storytelling.

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

  1. Il devina la réponse avant que je puisse la donner.
    (He guessed the answer before I could give it.)

  2. Nous devinâmes l’identité du coupable grâce à un indice.
    (We guessed the identity of the culprit thanks to a clue.)

  3. Elle devina que quelque chose n’allait pas dès qu’elle le vit entrer.
    (She guessed that something was wrong as soon as she saw him enter.)

Please note that the Passé Simple tense is rarely used in spoken French and is mostly reserved for formal or literary contexts. In everyday conversations, the passé composé or other compound tenses are more common to express the past.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je devinai J’ai devinai la réponse. I guessed the answer.
Tu devinas Tu devinas la vérité. You guessed the truth.
Il devina Il devina le résultat. He guessed the result.
Elle devina Elle devina la solution. She guessed the solution.
On devina On devina la bonne nouvelle. One guessed the good news.
Nous devinâmes Nous devinâmes l’énigme. We guessed the riddle.
Vous devinâtes Vous devinâtes le mot. You guessed the word.
Ils devinèrent Ils devinèrent le coupable. They guessed the culprit.
Elles devinèrent Elles devinèrent la réponse. They (feminine) guessed the answer.

Other Conjugations for Deviner.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb deviner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Deviner – 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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