Passé Composé vs. Imparfait Flashcards
Broadly, what are the main difference between the passé composé and the imparfait?
The imparfait describes what was happening all around you, including what you were doing.
background information, ongoing events, habits, what used the be.
The passé composé is what took place at that very moment - a specific event or succession of them, the main storyline.
Habits vs specific events example
imparfait: Le lundi je dinais chez ma soeur (On Mondays, I used to have dinner at my sister’s)
PC: Un lundi, nous avons diné au restaurant (One Monday, we dined at a restaurant.
How do you tell the imparfait from the pc in a story?
The imparfait describes background information that’s not part of the main story or action - things like the date, time of day, the weather, what other people were doing, age, what you were wearing, physical traits/condition, feelings, attitudes, personal circumstances.
How do you distinguish imparfait and pc in the same sentence?
imparfait is something ongoing that had started before and may continue after. The pc will be something that occurred during this time: Ils sont entrés pendant que nous dormioins (They entered while we were sleeping). We were already sleeping when they entered, and continued to do so. They entered is a short event.
What are expressions that are usually followed by the imparfait?
Le lundi, le soir, le matin…On Mondays, in the evening, in the morning - these are habitual.
Tous les lundis, tous les matins, tous les soirs, tous les jours…Every Monday, every morning, etc.
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
What expressions are usually followed by the pc?
D’abord, premièrement - first
puis, ensuite - then
enfin, finalement - finally
soudain - suddenly
tout à coup - all of a sudden
tout de suite - right away
un jour - one day
un weekend - one weekend
une fois - once
deux fois - twice
plusieurs fois - several times
What is the difference between temps and fois?
Temps will be used with a span of time
Fois refers to the number of times an action occurs
