Notes
Choosing the tense
| Passé composé | Imparfait |
|---|---|
| Completed actions, events that move the story | Habits, ongoing actions, background |
| One time or a set number of times | Repeated, "used to" |
| Clear start or end | No clear start or end |
- The imparfait describes weather, age, feelings, time and the scene: Il faisait nuit. Elle avait dix ans. J'étais fatigué.
- Signals for passé composé: hier, un jour, soudain, tout à coup, ce jour-là. Signals for imparfait: souvent, toujours, d'habitude, chaque été, le samedi, autrefois.
Combining the tenses
- An ongoing action (imparfait) is interrupted by a completed event (passé composé): Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné.
- Two simultaneous ongoing actions use two imparfaits: Pendant que je lisais, il regardait la télé.
- Storytelling: set the scene with the imparfait, then move the plot with the passé composé.
Verbs that change meaning
- savoir: je savais (I knew) / j'ai su (I found out). connaître: je connaissais / j'ai connu (I met). vouloir: je voulais / j'ai voulu (I tried). pouvoir: je pouvais / j'ai pu (I managed to). avoir peur: j'avais peur / j'ai eu peur (I got scared).
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
The ongoing action is imparfait; the interruption is passé composé.
Tous les dimanches signals a repeated habit, so the imparfait is used.
Savoir in the passé composé means to find out.
Time is background (imparfait); arriving is a completed event (passé composé with être).
Soudain introduces the light going out, a completed event.
Both clauses describe a habit in the past, so both use the imparfait.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Yasmine tells a story about a rainy Saturday.
(a) Write two French sentences that set the scene: it was Saturday, it was raining, and Yasmine was at home and bored.
Show the answer and scoring guide
C'était samedi et il pleuvait. Yasmine était à la maison et elle s'ennuyait.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Add a sentence in which Yasmine was reading a book when a friend arrived (use the correct tense for each verb).
Show the answer and scoring guide
Yasmine lisait un livre quand son amie est arrivée.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Explain in English why the verbs in (a) are in a different tense from the second verb in (b).
Show the answer and scoring guide
Part (a) describes background and states with no clear end (imparfait). The arrival in (b) is a completed event that interrupts the ongoing action (passé composé).
Check off the points you earned: