Écrivis

Écrivis is a conjugated form of the French verb écrire in the passé simple, a literary past tense. It can appear as j'écrivis (first person singular) or tu écrivis (second person singular). The passé simple is primarily used in written narrative, such as novels and historical works, and is uncommon in everyday spoken French, where the passé composé is preferred (j'ai écrit, tu as écrit).

In addition to j'écrivis and tu écrivis, the other passé simple forms of écrire are il écrivit, nous écrivîmes, vous écrivîtes, and ils écrivirent. The endings follow the archaic, literary pattern distinct from modern conversational usage. The verb écri- carries its ordinary meaning, “to write,” and the form écris/écrivis share the same root but belong to different tenses.

Usage and style notes: The passé simple, including écrivis, situates actions in a definite past within a narrative sequence. It is valued for its formal, elevated tone and is typically found in literature, history writing, or formal reportage rather than informal communication. In contemporary writing for broad audiences, authors often substitute the passé composé to convey the same meaning with greater immediacy.

Example sentences:

- J'écrivis une longue lettre jeudi dernier.

- Tu écrivis rapidement ta réponse avant d’oublier.

Etymology: écrire comes from Latin scribere; the passé simple forms preserve the old French conjugation pattern for this verb.