# Passé Composé or Imperfect

https://langs123.com/en/french/passe/passe-compose-imparfait/
CEFR A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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

- 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

| Passé composé | Imparfait |
| --- | --- |
| 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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Time word | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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” |