Utilizing Passé Composé vs. Imparfait in French: What You Want To Know
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The previous is the place we inform the tales of our lives. To take action in French, you’ll have to know that there are two fundamental previous tenses. The passé composé and the imparfait are each used to relate and describe what has already occurred. These tenses differ in each their types and utilization. Regardless that these variations don’t correspond to English translations, there are lots of suggestions and tips that will help you perceive when to make use of passé composé vs imparfait and discuss concerning the previous like a local speaker!
What’s the distinction between the imparfait and the passé composé in French?
The passé composé vs. imparfait may be an unfamiliar distinction for English audio system studying French, however may be damaged down into a couple of key variations. The passé composé is a compound tense, which means it’s fabricated from two elements: a serving to verb and a previous participle. It’s usually used to relate particular, accomplished occasions prior to now.
- J’ai regardé le movie hier. = I watched the film yesterday.
- Je suis allée au cinéma le weekend dernier. = I went to the movie show final weekend.
The imparfait is an easy tense, which means it’s fabricated from only one phrase. It’s used to explain ongoing states and situations, and uncounted, interrupted, or repeated actions prior to now.
- Je regardais souvent ce movie quand j’étais jeune. = I watched this film usually after I was younger.
- J’allais au cinéma le weekend. = I went to the movie show on the weekends.
As you develop in your capacity to converse French with confidence, you’ll use each tenses when telling concerning the previous—generally even in the identical sentence. As you possibly can see within the above examples, the 2 tenses can generally be translated the identical manner in English.
>>Learn to use all 21 French tenses for verbs with this final information!
When to make use of the imparfait in French
Imparfait, the French imperfect tense, is used for background data and outline prior to now. As an illustration, you may want to explain your age or somebody’s persona utilizing imparfait. It may possibly specific steady or unfinished states and traits. It’s often used to precise:
- Age
- J’avais quinze ans. = I used to be fifteen years outdated.
- Feelings and psychological states
- Elles étaient contentes. = They had been joyful.
- Time and date
- Il était six heures. = It was six o’clock.
- C’était en juin. = It was in June.
- Character
- Tu étais timide. = You had been shy.
- Bodily descriptions
- Il était mince et chauve. = He was skinny and bald.
- Situations
- La porte était ouverte. = The door was open.
- Climate
- Il pleuvait. = It was raining.
- Normal likes and dislikes
- On aimait la neige. = We preferred the snow.
- What one had or needed
- Vous n’aviez pas de chien. Vous vouliez un chat. = You didn’t have a canine. You needed a cat.
The imparfait can also be used for ordinary, repeated, or uncounted actions prior to now. This may be translated in English with the phrases “used to,” or “would.”
- J’allais chez ma grand-mère pour célébrer Noël. = I used to go to my grandmother’s home to have fun Christmas.
- Je faisais du ski pendant l’hiver. = I’d ski within the winter.
When to make use of the passé composé in French
In contrast to the imparfait, the passé composé is used for single, particular, accomplished actions prior to now.
- J’ai acheté une couverture pour mon lit. = I purchased a blanket for my mattress.
- Nous sommes allées chez ma grand-mère il y a trois jours. = We went to my grandmother’s home three days in the past.
- Il a perdu son passeport. = He misplaced his passport.
You additionally use the passé composé if you’re specifying a sure period of time or various occurrences.
- Il a travaillé dans un restaurant pendant trois ans. = He labored in a restaurant for 3 years.
- Tu as fait du ski cinq fois? = You will have skied 5 occasions?
Use each the imparfait and the passé composé for interrupted actions
If one motion is interrupted by one other prior to now, use the imparfait for the motion that was already occurring and the passé composé for the motion that interrupts it.
- Je jouais au trombone quand le voisin a frappé à la porte. = I used to be enjoying the trombone when the neighbor knocked on the door.
- (imparfait) Je jouais = I was enjoying
- (passé composé) Le voisin a frappé = the neighbor knocked
- Je cherchais mes clés, quand j’ai vu une souris ! = I used to be searching for my keys after I noticed a mouse!
- (imparfait) Je cherchais = I was searching for
- (passé composé) J’ai vu = I noticed
What verbs change which means within the imparfait vs. the passé composé?
Some verbs change which means barely within the imparfait vs. passé composé. It’s useful to consider it as background data vs. an occasion. For instance, the verb connaître (to be accustomed to) can be utilized within the imparfait once you want to say that you just knew an individual, had been already acquainted with them, or had been accustomed to them. It is a description of the background data.
- Je connais son frère. = I knew her brother.
However when you use the identical verb within the passé composé, it implies a particular occasion prior to now. Used on this manner, it signifies that you met somebody (and acquired to know them) for the primary time.
- J’ai connu son frère. = I met her brother.
| French Verb | Which means in Imparfait | Which means in Passé Composé |
| avoir (to have) | had | obtained, acquired |
| connaître (to know, be accustomed to) | knew (was accustomed to, was acquainted with) | met, acquired to know |
| devoir (to be obligated to) | was presupposed to (however hadn’t but) | needed to (and did) |
| pouvoir (to have the ability to) | may, was capable of (basically, in principle) | managed to, was capable of (and did) |
| savoir (to know a truth, to know tips on how to) | knew a truth, was conscious of, knew tips on how to | realized or came upon for the primary time |
| vouloir (to need) | needed (had an ongoing need) | determined to, tried to (or refused to, if unfavourable) |
Which expressions of time point out the passé composé?
There are specific expressions of time prior to now that usually level to particular occasions and occasions, one-time occurrences, or counted actions. They’re sometimes used with the passé composé.
| French | English |
| # fois (deux fois, trois fois) | # occasions (twice, thrice) |
| à ce second là | at that second |
| avant hier | the day earlier than yesterday |
| d’abord | first |
| enfin | lastly |
| finalement | lastly |
| hier | yesterday |
| hier matin (après-midi, soir) | yesterday morning (afternoon, night) |
| il y a # ans (mois, semaines, jours) | # years in the past (months, weeks, days) |
| la semaine / l’année dernière | final week / final yr |
| le weekend / le mois dernier | final weekend / final month |
| soudainement | immediately |
| tout à coup | swiftly |
| une fois… | one time… |
Which expressions of time point out the imparfait?
The next expressions often point out that the imparfait could be the suitable previous tense. They have a tendency to accompany uncounted, routine, non-specific, or ordinary actions.
| French | English |
| chaque (année, jour, semaine) | every (yr, day, week) |
| constamment | always |
| d’habitude | often |
| de temps en temps | once in a while, now and again |
| en général | basically |
| généralement | usually |
| le (lundi, mardi, and many others) | on (mondays, tuesdays, and many others) |
| normalement | usually |
| parfois | generally, sometimes |
| quelquefois | generally, sometimes |
| rarement | not often |
| souvent | usually |
| toujours | all the time |
| tous les (ans, jours, semaines) | each (yr, day, week) |
Suggestions for utilizing the passé composé vs. imparfait appropriately
Because the two previous tenses don’t all the time correspond to a particular English translation, nor do they all the time neatly observe guidelines for when to make use of the passé composé vs. imparfait, it’s useful to have some suggestions and tips that will help you perceive the character of the 2 tenses.
Use the imparfait to set the scene
Think about you go to the theater to see a musical. Whereas the overture performs and the curtains open, you see actors and actresses on stage, transferring by way of the scene whereas appearing out their personalities and roles. You discover particulars resembling:
- Le village était beau. = The village was stunning.
- Les femmes portaient des robes. = The ladies had been carrying attire.
- Les enfants jouaient et couraient. = The kids had been enjoying and operating.
- Il y avait du soleil. = It was sunny
- C’était le printemps. = It was spring.
- La femme n’avait pas d’argent. = The girl didn’t have any cash.
- Il y avait un homme avec une barbe. = There was a person with a beard.
- Il était rigolo. = He was amusing.
You will have lots of background data at this level, however because the overture involves an in depth, no particular occasions have occurred but to advance the plot. The imparfait is solely setting the scene and describing the background to viewers and listeners.
Use the passé composé to relate occasions and place them so as
On the conclusion of the musical, you suppose again concerning the plot. In the event you needed to summarize what occasions occurred within the storyline, you may consider specifics resembling:
- La fille a discuté avec son père. = The lady argued together with her father.
- Elle est partie dans un prepare. = She left on a prepare.
- Il y a eu un accident. = There was an accident.
- Elle a perdu tout son argent. = She misplaced all her cash.
- Elle est rentrée. = She returned.
You could possibly put these occasions so as of once they occurred, from first, subsequent, and final. This order of chronological occasions is an efficient clue that it’s best to use the passé composé to explain it.
Consider a timeline
In the event you think about a timeline, beginning with the current second and going backward into the previous, occasions that use the passé composé could be straightforward to position. They’re represented with particular moments on that timeline that might be outlined by their starting and finish (I gained the state race and went to the championship).
Descriptions expressed with the imparfait could be harder to position on the timeline. Both these occurrences could be represented by a sequence of repeated occasions that occurred with regularity (I all the time used to beat my siblings once we would race) or could be too nebulous to position with any sense of precision (I preferred operating as a result of I used to be quick).
- Je suis né le 5 janvier, 1968. = I used to be born on January 5, 1968.
It’s straightforward to outline when this occasion occurred. It’s particular and full, so you utilize the passé composé.
- J’étais plus petit que mon frère. = I used to be shorter than my brother.
It’s tricker to outline when this situation started or maybe it hasn’t ended, so you utilize the imparfait. One other method to describe it’s that the state of affairs (being shorter) was usually true over an extended time period and is descriptive reasonably than an occasion.
Discover conjugation patterns in context
If the types of French verb conjugation, you possibly can take note of when they’re utilized in pure contexts. Some useful instruments for studying French conjugations could be:
- kids’s books
- quick tales
- television exhibits
- motion pictures
- social media quick clips
- podcasts with transcripts
- language studying apps
Rosetta Stone’s multi function app consists of Tales, a Phrasebook, and an Audio Companion, so you possibly can speed up your language studying and put French previous tenses to make use of. The bite-size narratives within the tales are a terrific place to note how native audio system use the imparfait vs. passé composé.
