French 2 / Unit 5: Passé Composé vs Imparfait
5.3 Verbs That Change Meaning
Notes
Some verbs have different meanings in the two tenses, especially savoir, vouloir, pouvoir and connaître.
| Verb | Imparfait | Passé composé |
|---|---|---|
| savoir | Je savais (I knew) | J'ai su (I found out) |
| connaître | Je connaissais (I knew a person) | J'ai connu (I met) |
| vouloir | Je voulais (I wanted) | J'ai voulu (I tried / decided) |
| pouvoir | Je pouvais (I was able) | J'ai pu (I managed to) |
| avoir | J'avais peur (I was scared) | J'ai eu peur (I got scared) |
- Example: Je ne savais pas la réponse. Hier, j'ai su qu'elle partait. (Yesterday I found out she was leaving.)
Practice
What does "J'ai su la nouvelle hier" mean?
Savoir in the passé composé means to find out.
Which sentence means "I was scared when I heard the noise"?
State of fear is background; hearing the noise is a single event.
What does "Je connaissais Marie" mean?
Imparfait of connaître describes knowing someone as a state.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 5 test.