The verbs vouloir, pouvoir and valoir in the passé simple in French

Read more about how to use The verbs vouloir, pouvoir and valoir in the passé simple in French.
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The verbs vouloir, pouvoir and valoir in the passé simple

The verbs vouloir, pouvoir and valoir are conjugated in the passé simple like this:

vouloir en
Je voulus
Tu voulus
Il voulut/elle voulut
Nous voulûmes
Vous voulûtes
Ils voulurent/elles voulurent
pouvoir en
Je pus
Tu pus
Il put/elle put
Nous pûmes
Vous pûtes
Ils purent/elles purent
valoir en
Je valus
Tu valus
Il valut/elle valut
Nous valûmes
Vous valûtes
Ils valurent/elles valurent

« Elle voulut le faire entrer dans sa cellule (...) - Non, non, dit-il, le hibou n'entre pas dans le nid de l'alouette. » (Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo.) She wanted to let him come into her cell.... -"No, no," said he; “the owl enters not the nest of the lark.”

Note: The passé simple is mostly used in formal and literary French for describing specific or completed past actions.


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