The use of the simple past is nowadays very limited, being restricted to formal written language and very formal oral language.

Beside the perfect tense, Friulian also features other compound past tenses such as the pluperfect (o vevi st�t 'I had been', o vevi v�t 'I had had', o vevi scolt�t 'I had heard' etc) and the past anterior (o foi st�t, o vei v�t, o vei scolt�t etc). A characteristic of Friulian are the bi-compound past tenses, formed by adding the past participle of the verb to the perfect tense of 'to have' (o ai v�t st�t, o ai v�t scolt�t etc) or to the pluperfect tense of 'to have' (o vevi v�t st�t, o vevi v�t scolt�t etc).