Using Passé composé Flashcards
Passé Composé is a compound verb using the présent de l’indicatif of either avoir or être. Seventeen verbs use être and those must agree in number and gender.
Use passé composé:
1-To express events that happened in the past, telling what happened or changed(or didn’t), and a specific moment or duration of time is stated or implied in the context. It emphasizes their results or consequences in the present.
2-It expresses actions and states that have been completed at the time of speaking or writing.
3-It can be actions or a series of actions that were sudden.
List 3 examples of when to use Passé Compose
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
I just went to the supermarket two days ago.
Je suis allé au supermarché, il y a deux jours.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
Last weekend, I watched television.
Le weekend passé, j’ai regardé la télévision.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
My mother appreciated her birthday present.
Ma mère a apprécié son cadeau d’anniversaire.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
I have eaten in this restaurant many times.
J’ai mangé dans ce restaurant beaucoup de fois.
The verbs that use être usually involve motion, but include birth, death, remain and become. The neumonic DRMRSVANDERTRAMPP is the 1st letter of the verbs using être: descendre, rester, mourir, retourner, sortir, venir, arriver, nâitre, devenir, entrer, rentrer, tomber, revenir, aller, monter, partir and passer. Note: the verbs w/an asterisk* use avoir when there is a direct object.
All pronomial verbs use être in the passé compose.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
He went to school.
Il est allé à l’école.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
Last night, at 8:00 my brother arrived at my house.
Hier soir, à huit heures, mon frère est arrivé chez moi.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
I woke up at 6 am this morning.
Je me suis révéillée à 6 heures ce matin.
Translate the following into French using passé composé:
I took down the suitcases.
J’ai descendu les valises.
L’imparfait tense is for
1-an action that was going on in the past at the same time as another action 2-an action that was going on in the past when another action occurred
3-an action that a person did habitually or frequently in the past
4-a description of a mental or physical condition in the past
5-an action or state of being that occurred in the past and lasted for a certain length of time.
6-multiple actions occurring at the same time
7-It is used to describe circumstances, background information, and most often to describe a state of mind in the past, as these tend to last over time.
Note: frequently the passé composé AND the imparfait are used in the same sentence. If the two actions intersect the passé compose is used to describe the action that JUST happened.
List three examples of when to use L’imparfait
1.
2.
3.
When l’imparfait AND passé composé are both used in one sentence, explain what passé composé describes.
Translate the following into French using l’imparfait
My friend wanted to marry a handsome young man
Mon amie voulait se marier avec un beau jeune homme.
Translate the following into French using l’imparfait
When I was a child, I went to bed early.
Quand j’étais enfant, je me couchais de bonne heure.
Translate the following into French using l’imparfait
Last year, the climate was generally dry.
L’année dernière, le temps était généralement sec.
Translate the following into French using l’imparfait
When I lived in New York, we often took walks in the city.
Quand j’habitais à New York, nous faisions souvent des promenades en ville.
