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

Introduction to the verb grimacer

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The English translation of the French verb grimacer is “to grimace.” The infinitive form of grimacer is pronounced as “gree-mah-say.”

The word grimacer originates from the Middle French word grimache, which means “ugly face” or “grimace.” It evolved from the Old French word grimache, which came from the Frankish word *grīma, meaning “mask.” It is most commonly used in everyday French to describe making a distorted or contorted facial expression, often to express pain, displeasure, or mockery.

In the Passé Simple tense, grimacer is used to describe past actions or events that are completed and have no connection to the present. Here are three examples of how grimacer can be used in the Passé Simple tense, along with their English translations:

  1. Elle grimaca en sentant la douleur.
    (She grimaced upon feeling the pain.)
  2. Il grimaca devant le miroir, ne supportant pas son apparence.
    (He grimaced in front of the mirror, unable to bear his appearance.)
  3. Les enfants grimacèrent en goûtant le plat épicé.
    (The children grimaced while tasting the spicy dish.)

Please note that the Passé Simple tense is primarily used in written French, particularly in literature, formal writing, or historical contexts, and is less common in spoken language.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je grimaçai Je grimacai devant le miroir. I grimaced in front of the mirror.
Tu grimaças Tu grimaças en faisant la grimace. You grimaced while making a funny face.
Il grimaca Il grimaca de douleur. He grimaced in pain.
Elle grimaca Elle grimaca de dégoût. She grimaced in disgust.
On grimaca On grimaca en voyant le résultat. One grimaced upon seeing the result.
Nous grimacâmes Nous grimacâmes en entendant la blague. We grimaced upon hearing the joke.
Vous grimacâtes Vous grimacâtes en regardant la photo. You grimaced while looking at the photo.
Ils grimacèrent Ils grimacèrent devant le spectacle. They grimaced at the show.
Elles grimacèrent Elles grimacèrent en mangeant le citron. They (feminine) grimaced while eating the lemon.

Other Conjugations for Grimacer.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb grimacer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Grimacer – 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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