Fi fi, fo, fut?

When you are learning (or re-learning ) French, reading in passé simple (the exclusively literary verb tense used in most French literature to express an action) is not always so simple!

Example of the difference:

He walked into the bookstore.

In spoken French: Il est entrée dans la librairie.

In passe simple: Il entra dans la librairie.

If you would like to read in French without having to learn a whole new verb tense:

Here are books that use regular past tense (passe composé) or present tense to indicate past action. Most are written from children but there are few for teens and adults that have opted to forgo it.

Caveat: to discover all the treasures of French literature you will eventually need to get comfortable reading in passe simple. And don't worry! The more you read the easier it gets until eventually won't even notice the difference. You might even begin to like it!

VERTE