Niveau A1 · Grammaire
The Simple Past
Le prétérit simple : affirmatif, négatif, questions
Partie 1La forme affirmative▾
Le prétérit simple sert à parler d'une action terminée dans le passé : hier, la semaine dernière, en 2020… En français, on le traduit souvent par le passé composé (j'ai travaillé).
sujet+verbe au passé+complément
I + worked + yesterday → I worked yesterday. = J'ai travaillé hier.
| Sujet | Régulier | Irrégulier | Exemple | En français |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | worked | went | I went to Paris. | Je suis allé(e) à Paris. |
| you | played | saw | You saw a film. | Tu as vu un film. |
| he | cooked | ate | He cooked dinner. | Il a préparé le dîner. |
| she | watched | had | She had a coffee. | Elle a pris un café. |
| it | rained | began | It rained yesterday. | Il a plu hier. |
| we | visited | made | We visited London. | Nous avons visité Londres. |
| they | walked | bought | They bought a car. | Ils ont acheté une voiture. |
💡 Bonne nouvelle : au prétérit, le verbe est le même pour toutes les personnes. Pas de -s avec he / she / it !
Les mots qui annoncent le prétérit
yesterday hierlast night hier soirlast week la semaine dernièretwo days ago il y a deux joursin 2020 en 2020this morning ce matin
Les verbes irréguliers à connaître
| Verbe → prétérit | Français | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| go → went | aller | I went to the beach. |
| have → had | avoir, prendre | She had a shower. |
| eat → ate | manger | We ate pizza. |
| drink → drank | boire | He drank a coffee. |
| see → saw | voir | I saw a good film. |
| buy → bought | acheter | They bought bread. |
| make → made | faire, fabriquer | Mum made a cake. |
| get → got | obtenir, recevoir | I got an email. |
| take → took | prendre | We took the train. |
| come → came | venir | My friend came home. |
| read → read | lire (prononcé « red ») | I read a book. |
| write → wrote | écrire | She wrote a letter. |
Partie 2L'orthographe du -ed▾
1
Règle générale : on ajoute -ed
work → worked · play → played · watch → watched
work → worked · play → played · watch → watched
2
Le verbe finit par -e : on ajoute seulement -d
live → lived · dance → danced · like → liked
live → lived · dance → danced · like → liked
3
Consonne + -y : le -y devient -ied
study → studied · try → tried · carry → carried
study → studied · try → tried · carry → carried
4
Verbe court : consonne + voyelle + consonne → on double la dernière consonne
stop → stopped · plan → planned · drop → dropped
stop → stopped · plan → planned · drop → dropped
Partie 3La forme négative▾
Pour dire « ne… pas » au passé, on utilise did not (didn't) + le verbe à la base, sans -ed.
sujet+didn't+verbe (base)
| Affirmatif | Négatif | En français |
|---|---|---|
| I worked. | I didn't work. | Je n'ai pas travaillé. |
| She went. | She didn't go. | Elle n'est pas allée. |
| They played. | They didn't play. | Ils n'ont pas joué. |
| He ate. | He didn't eat. | Il n'a pas mangé. |
| We saw a film. | We didn't see a film. | Nous n'avons pas vu de film. |
⚠️ Attention : après didn't, le verbe revient à la base : She didn't go (et pas « She didn't went »).
Partie 4Les questions▾
Pour poser une question, on met Did devant le sujet, et le verbe revient à la base.
Did+sujet+verbe (base)… ?
You worked yesterday. → Did you work yesterday?
She went to London. → Did she go to London?
They ate pizza. → Did they eat pizza?
Les réponses courtes
| Question | Oui ✓ | Non ✗ |
|---|---|---|
| Did you work? | Yes, I did. | No, I didn't. |
| Did he go? | Yes, he did. | No, he didn't. |
| Did she call? | Yes, she did. | No, she didn't. |
| Did it rain? | Yes, it did. | No, it didn't. |
| Did they come? | Yes, they did. | No, they didn't. |
⚠️ Dans la réponse courte, on reprend did : Yes, I did. / No, I didn't. (et pas « Yes, I worked. »)
Les questions avec What, Where, When, Who
Avec un mot interrogatif, il se place tout au début de la question.
| Mot | Sens | Exemple | En français |
|---|---|---|---|
| What | Que / Quoi | What did you do? | Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ? |
| Where | Où | Where did she go? | Où est-elle allée ? |
| When | Quand | When did they arrive? | Quand sont-ils arrivés ? |
| Who | Qui | Who did you see? | Qui as-tu vu ? |
Attention !Les erreurs à éviter▾
💡 Le verbe be (être) est spécial au passé : I / he / she / it was, you / we / they were. Exemple : I was tired. We were at home.
RécapLe prétérit en un coup d'œil▾
| Exemple | Structure | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmatif | She worked. / She went. | sujet + V-ed (ou irrégulier) |
| Négatif | She didn't work. | sujet + didn't + base |
| Question | Did she work? | Did + sujet + base ? |
| Réponse courte | Yes, she did. / No, she didn't. | Yes / No + sujet + did / didn't |
© Love English · The Simple Past · V1