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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb incriminer

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The English translation of the French verb “incriminer” is “to incriminate”. The infinitive form “incriminer” is pronounced as “an-kree-mee-nay”.

The verb “incriminer” comes from the Latin word “crimen”, meaning “crime”. It is often used in everyday French to express the act of accusing or blaming someone for a crime or wrongdoing. In the Passé Simple (Simple Past) tense, which is used mostly in written language and formal situations, “incriminer” is conjugated as follows:

  • J’incriminai (I incriminated)
  • Tu incriminas (You incriminated)
  • Il/Elle incrimina (He/She incriminated)
  • Nous incriminâmes (We incriminated)
  • Vous incriminâtes (You incriminated)
  • Ils/Elles incriminèrent (They incriminated)

Examples of its usage in the Passé Simple tense with their English translations are:

  1. J’incriminai mon collègue dans mon témoignage. (I incriminated my colleague in my testimony.)
  2. Tu incriminas ton voisin pour le vol de ta voiture. (You incriminated your neighbor for the theft of your car.)
  3. Il incrimina son ancien partenaire dans l’affaire. (He incriminated his former partner in the case.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
Je incriminai J’incriminai mon voisin. I incriminated my neighbor.
Tu incriminas Tu incriminas ton ami. You incriminated your friend.
Il incrimina Il incrimina le suspect. He incriminated the suspect.
Elle incrimina Elle incrimina son collègue. She incriminated her colleague.
On incrimina On incrimina le coupable. One incriminated the guilty person.
Nous incriminâmes Nous incriminâmes le voleur. We incriminated the thief.
Vous incriminâtes Vous incriminâtes le témoin. You incriminated the witness.
Ils incriminèrent Ils incriminèrent l’accusé. They incriminated the accused.
Elles incriminèrent Elles incriminèrent la victime. They (feminine) incriminated the victim.

Other Conjugations for Incriminer.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb incriminer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Incriminer – 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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