The imparfait vs the passé composé
Knowing which past tense to use : the most classic dilemma in French.
Knowing which past tense to use : the most classic dilemma in French.
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Vocabulary for this lesson
- je parlais : I was speaking / I used to speak
- j'étais : I was
- il pleuvait : it was raining
- nous habitions : we used to live
- chaque jour : every day
- soudain : suddenly
🇫🇷 A bit of French culture
The imparfait is built on the "nous" present-tense stem + the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient: "nous parlons" → "je parlais". The only exception: "être" → "j'étais". Usage rule: the imparfait describes the BACKGROUND (a state, a habit, an ongoing action: "Il pleuvait", "Je jouais chaque jour"), while the passé composé tells the one-off EVENT happening within it ("...quand le téléphone a sonné"). Think of a film: the imparfait is the set, the passé composé is the action.
