The passé composé tells finished events, and the imparfait describes the scene around them: il pleuvait quand je suis sorti. The event that breaks in takes the passé composé, and the action going on takes the imparfait: Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné.
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passé composé | a finished event, a length of time, a stated number of times | J’ai habité deux ans à Lyon. | I lived in Lyon for two years. | |
| Imparfait | the scene, the habit, the action in progress | Il pleuvait sur la ville. | It was raining on the town. | |
| Interruption | the action in progress in the imparfait, the event in the passé composé | Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné. | I was sleeping when the phone rang. | |
| Story | the scene in the imparfait, the events in the passé composé | Il pleuvait, alors je suis resté à la maison. | It was raining, so I stayed at home. | |
| Reason | the reason for an event takes the imparfait | Je suis resté parce que j’étais fatigué. | I stayed because I was tired. | |
| Habit and one day | the habit in the imparfait, the one day in the passé composé | D’habitude je prenais le bus, mais ce jour-là j’ai pris le métro. | Usually I took the bus, but that day I took the metro. | |
| Passé composé signals | soudain / tout à coup / un jour / ce jour-là / deux fois | Soudain, la porte s’est ouverte. | Suddenly the door opened. | |
| Imparfait signals | toujours / souvent / d’habitude / tous les jours / chaque été | Tous les jours, il prenait le train. | Every day he took the train. | |
| Trap | a stated length of time takes the passé composé | Hier, j’ai joué deux heures. | Yesterday I played for two hours. | |
| Trap | a description in the past takes the imparfait | La maison était grande. | The house was big. |
Overview
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- The two tenses show the same past from two sides: the passé composé sees the whole event, the imparfait sees it going on. Hier, il a plu toute la journée. / Hier, il pleuvait quand je suis sorti.Yesterday it rained all day. / Yesterday it was raining when I went out.
- A time word helps, but the meaning decides: hier goes with both tenses. Hier, j’ai travaillé. / Hier, je travaillais quand tu as appelé.I worked yesterday. / Yesterday I was working when you called.
- The forms: Passé Composé: j’ai mangé and Imperfect: je parlais.
Compare: passé composé and imparfait
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| Passé composé | Imparfait | Level |
|---|---|---|
| a finished event: what happened | the scene: how things were | |
| Hier soir, j’ai mangé une pizza.I had a pizza last night. | La pizza était délicieuse.The pizza was delicious. | |
| one time, or a stated number of times | a habit, with no number | |
| L’été dernier, je suis allé trois fois à la plage.Last summer I went to the beach three times. | Chaque été, j’allais à la plage.I went to the beach every summer. | |
| a period with its length, now over | the background, with no end in view | |
| J’ai habité deux ans à Lyon.I lived in Lyon for two years. | Quand j’habitais à Lyon, je travaillais dans un hôtel.When I lived in Lyon, I worked in a hotel. |
Use: one action breaks into another
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| An action in progress is interrupted by an event | Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné. | I was sleeping when the phone rang. | |
| The time or the weather, then the event | Quand je suis arrivé, il était huit heures. | When I arrived, it was eight o'clock. | |
| The reason for an event | Je suis resté à la maison parce qu’il pleuvait. | I stayed at home because it was raining. | |
| A habit, then one particular day | D’habitude je prenais le bus, mais ce jour-là j’ai pris le métro. | Usually I took the bus, but that day I took the metro. |
Telling a story
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| The opening: the scene | Il était huit heures et il pleuvait. | It was eight o'clock and it was raining. | |
| The story: the events, in order | Je suis sorti, j’ai pris le bus et je suis arrivé en retard. | I went out, took the bus and arrived late. | |
| The comment: what someone thought or wanted | Je n’étais pas content : je voulais être à l’heure. | I wasn't happy: I wanted to be on time. |
Signal words
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| Time word | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| soudain, tout à coup, un jour, ce jour-là, deux fois | Soudain, la porte s’est ouverte. / Ce jour-là, nous avons visité le musée. | Suddenly the door opened. / That day we visited the museum. | |
| toujours, souvent, d’habitude, tous les jours, chaque été | Tous les jours, il prenait le train. | Every day he took the train. |
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| La maison a été grande et a eu un jardin. | La maison était grande et avait un jardin. | a description in the past takes the imparfait | |
| Quand je suis petit, j’ai habité à Nice. | Quand j’étais petit, j’habitais à Nice. | a period of life with no end in view takes the imparfait | |
| Je dormais quand le téléphone sonnait. | Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné. | the event that breaks in takes the passé composé | |
| Pendant les vacances, j’ai joué au tennis tous les jours. | Pendant les vacances, je jouais au tennis tous les jours. | tous les jours marks a habit, so the verb takes the imparfait, even when English says “played” |