Imparfait vs. Passe compose Flashcards
How was it? (Imparfait)
It was beautiful. There were many people in the street. I was alone that day.
Comment c’était?
Il faisait beau. Il y avait beaucoup de
personnes dans les rues. J’étais seul ce
jour-là.
A repeated action, a habit (Imparfait)
Each year, I left on vacation to the sea with my parents. We went to Biaritz. We spent two weeks there.
Une action répétée, une habitude
Chaque année, je partais en vacances à la
mer avec mes parents.
Nous allions à Biaritz. (On allait a Biaritz.)
Nous y passions 2 semaines.
An action in the making (-ING verb)
I was sleeping.
Une action entrain de se faire
(en anglais, form en –ing // I was sleepING)
Je dormais.
EN TRAIN DE (en train de dormir/manger, etc/)
Imparfait Adverbs
Some French “time” expressions are usually followed by the imperfect since they introduce habitual events: I suggest you memorize them, it’s a big help.
- On Mondays, in the evening, in the morning…
- Every Monday, every morning, every evening, every day…
- Each day, month, year…
- usually, habitually
- in general
- usually
- sometimes
- from time to time
- rarely, seldom
- in the past, formerly (pretty formal).
Some French “time” expressions are usually followed by the imperfect since they introduce habitual events: I suggest you memorize them, it’s a big help.
*le lundi, le soir, le matin…
On Mondays, in the evening, in the morning…
*tous les lundis (tous les matins, tous les soirs, tous les jours…)
Every Monday, every morning, every evening, every day…
*chaque jour (chaque mois, chaque année…),
Each day, month, year…
*d’habitude, habituellement
usually, habitually
*généralement, en général
in general
*normalement
usually
*parfois, quelques fois
sometimes
*de temps en temps
from time to time
*rarement
rarely, seldom
*autrefois
in the past, formerly (pretty formal).
Passe Compose Adverbs
- one day, one morning, one evening
- suddenly, abruptly, brusquely
- all of a sudden, suddenly
- right away, immediately
- first of all, finally
- then, next
*un jour, un matin, un soir …
one day, one morning, one evening
*soudain, brusquement, brutalement …
suddenly, abruptly, brusquely
*tout d’un coup, tout à coup …
all of a sudden, suddenly
*tout de suite, immédiatement …
right away, immediately
*d’abord, enfin …
first of all, finally
*puis, ensuite …
then, next
Common VERBS in imparfait
Usually, when verbs like être, avoir, pouvoir, vouloir, and savoir are in a past narration, they will be in the imparfait, since they most likely:
describe a past state of being or condition
When to use imparfait?
- reasons
IMPARFAIT:
**Also emotional/mental states in the past
1.to describe a situation (weather, landscape, person) in the past
Example:
Mes amis m’appelaient pour me dire combien le temps était horrible à la mer.
2.to emphasise the duration of an action
Example:
Ils passaient leurs journées à l’intérieur!
3.to talk about repeated past actions (used to, would)
Example:
Souvent, je m’arrêtais pour parler avec les villageois
4.to talk about simultaneously occurring actions in the past
Example:
Donc, pendant que je pédalais, ils étaient sûrement assis sur le sable.
5.to talk about an action that was already in progress in the past when a new action interrupted it
[first imparfait, then passe compose]
Example:
Mais un jour, pendant que je parlais avec un agriculteur, j’ai reçu un appel.
When to use passe compose
5 reasons
PASSE COMPOSE:
1.to talk about sudden actions in the past (e.g. an action that interrupted another)
Example:
J’ai reçu un appel.
2.to list past actions, often with a time indicator
Example:
L’année dernière, je suis allé au bord de la Loire pour les vacances.
3.a completed one-time action in the past
Example:
J’ai fait une randonnée à vélo.
4.sequentially occurring actions in the past
Example:
J’ai raccroché et j’ai ri.
5.new action in the past that interrupts another action that was already in progress
[first imparfait, then passe compose)
Example:
Mais un jour, pendant que je parlais avec un agriculteur, j’ai reçu un appel.
