Le Passé Simple

Le Passé Simple (also
known as the simple past or Past Definite)
--expresses an action that took place at some definite time. The
action is OVER.

--this tense is not used in conversational French or in informal writing.
It is a literary tense.
It is used in formal writing such as history or literature. French writers
use the passé simple
less and less these days.

--The passé composé is the equivalent of the passé
simple and is replacing it more and more
in literature, although the verbs avoir and être are still quite commonly
written in the passé simple
in formal writing.

Formation:

For all -ER verbs, drop the -ER and add the endings:
-ai
-âmes
-as
-âtes
-a
-èrent

For all -IR and -RE verbs, drop the ending of the infinitive and add the
endings:
-is
-îmes
-is
-îtes
-it
-irent

(the above information mostly taken from 501 French
Verbs, Third Edition. Ed. Christopher Kendris)

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Other comments on the passé simple:

Watch out in distinguishing between the passé simple and the future
in the third person plural:

ils parleront (they will speak)
ils parlèrent (they spoke)


You must simply be able to recognize the passé simple of irregular
verbs. Here are a few:

ETRE
POUVOIR

je fus nous fûmes
je pus nous pûmes
tu fus vous fûtes
tu pus vous pûtes
il fut ils
furent
il put ils purent

AVOIR
VOULOIR

j’eus nous eûmes
je voulus nous voulûmes
tu eus vous eûtes
tu voulus vous voulûtes
il eut ils eurent
il voulut ils voulurent

FAIRE

je fis nous fîmes

tu fis vous fîtes

il fit ils
firent

For other verbs that are not regular -er, -ir, or -re verbs, you’ll need
to use a dictionary, the appendices,
or a French verb book. But you should be able to recognize a verb in
the passé simple,
due to the verb endings, even if the stem is irregular.