Unravel the secrets of Pass Compos versus Imparfait, the elusive On and more. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter, Recorded at 3 different speeds + Study Guide + Q&A + Full Transcript. The choice of Pass Compos over Imparfait is the kind of thing where grammar cannot explain everything, you need to develop an ear for it. In spoken French language, thepass composis always used instead of thepass simple. Verbs such as tudier (to study), rire (to laugh), sourire (to smile), and vrifier (to check) already end in ions in the present.

Imagine that you are taking a selfie portrait: the camera zooms on you and shows what you are doing specifically at that very moment. Ctait nouveau pour lui : Philippe tait encore un dbutant et ctait un peu difficile.

Below, I will give you some examples and even videos featuring imparfait vs pass-compos. Also ongoing events, habits, what used to be Picture a wide angle shot, Expressions USUALLY followed by pass compos: dabord, premirement first /depuis, ensuite then /enfin, finalement finally /soudain suddenly /tout coup all of a sudden /tout de suite right away. and any corresponding bookmarks? Je parlais, nous tudiions, ils choisissaient, elles allaient. You may also enjoy my article on how to choose tre or avoir for Pass Compos. Un lundi, nous avons dn au restaurant.One Monday, we dined in a restaurant. You may debate that if the 2 actions have the same length, it should be You came in as I went out but my first translation sounded better to my American ear. y bilingual novels are recorded at different levels of enunciation (enunciated and modern).

The contrast will then be obvious. bookmarked pages associated with this title. Soudainement (introduces PC), je me suis vanouie et je suis tombe par terre (succession of specific events, storyline).

Ctait un petit caf typiquement parisien (background) : on entendait un air de musique la radio (background), quelques personnes djeunaient et parlaient tranquillement sur la terrasse (background). Ils sont arrivs trs vite (specific event, storyline). Note: The only verb that does not follow the rule for the formation of the imperfect is tre (to be), whose imperfect stem is t: j'tais, tu tais, il tait, nous tions, vous tiez, ils taient.

Good luck with your studies and remember, repetition is the key! The problem is I sang or verbs in the English perfect tense They can be translated as je chantais or jai chant: it is the rest of the sentence that tells, so there is no way you can just translate. Mais cette anne-l (specific time so PC will follow), je suis alle Paris avec des amis. The following is a list of the nous form of the most common irregular verbs. Le serveur a tlphon aux pompiers (specific event, storyline). The Pass Antrieur, Next Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 23+ years in the US and France. Are you sure you want to remove #bookConfirmation# Most of the time, if you have a past progressive tense, so a verb + ING in English like in I was speaking, you can translate this past progressive into imparfait. Philippe sest approch du bord de la piscine, et puis il est sorti de leau. CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. Understanding when to use pass compos versus imparfait is probably one of the most difficult things for an English speaker, since you cannot translate literally from English. Subscribe to my newsletter, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages to be informed of new releases, and remember, repetition is the key!



Now the big question for French students is when to use Pass Compos vs Imparfait.

Le serveur est venu ma table, et jai pass ma commande (succession of specific events/storyline). Your comments and encouragements keep me going. a lui faisait du bien de nager.

Sometimes, the same tense is used for the 2 actions if they are of same length: Understand how you build and when to use the tenses of the past and future in French versus English. Voici Philippe.

In this case, what you need to look for are the time setting words: le lundi (habit) versus un lundi(specific).





Gnralement (habit so imparfait will follow), je passais mes vacances avec mes parents. Please note this is not set in stone. Il tait midi (background), et javais faim (background). Here is the French transcript, with imparfait in italic. Il avait envie de manger des lgumes, mais malheureusement, il nen avait plus. Below, youll find a short French story featuring imparfait vs pass-compos and in parenthesis why I used this specific tense of the past. Il tait stress ce jour-l, mais l, il sentait que petit petit, il se relaxait. One or the other just sounded better to me.

The PC will describe a specific action that took place at a precise time. It tells the series of specific events that took place. If you cannot understand this story, maybe you shouldnt be worrying about imparfait vs pass-compos right now and concentrate on priorities for French beginners. I was so happy to be there. Pass compos =what took place at that very moment: a specific event or a succession of specific events, the main storyline Picture a selfie, Imparfait =what was happening all around you (including you), background.

Il tait content et jouait avec la mousse, comme un enfant ! Pendant que jattendais mon repas, et que je buvais tranquillement mon caf(ongoing events), jai commenc me sentir mal (specific event). Imparfait vs pass-compos is explained clearly in my French audiobook method. 2022 Course Hero, Inc. All rights reserved. from your Reading List will also remove any Il faisait beau(background). Il est sorti de la baignoire, puis il a voulu jouer de la guitare. Jai pris un selfie et jai souri pour la photo.I took a selfie and I smiled for the picture. Cars were driving behind me and I could hear the sound of the city all around me. You are the only important part of the picture. Weconjugatethe imperfect in French by adding the endings-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iezand aientto the root of the present tensenousform of the verb. Je suisalledans un caf, et je me suis assise une table (succession of specific events/storyline).

Some expressions of time tend to be followed by the Pass Compos since they usually introduce specific events. The PlusQueParfait. My French audiobooks are exclusively available on French Today. En parlant de bon cuisinier, Philippe se demandait comment allait Pierre. I was singing or verbs in past progressive are going to be imperfect. Alors, les pompiers ont dcid (specific event/storyline) de memmener lhpital o les mdecins ont fait des tests (specific event). 2.5 Hours French Audiobook - 100% Free / Keep Forever , Why You Cannot Translate Imparfait or Pass Compos Literally, Pass compos vs Imparfait Detailed Explanations + Examples, 3 Imparfait vs Pass-compos Practice Stories, A Deeper Analysis of Pass-Compos vs Imparfait, The imperfect French tense describes actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past: quand jtais enfant, tous les ts, nous allions en Provence When I was a child, every summer we went to Provence.

Ce soir, Philippe est rentr tt du travail et il a mang un burger. Je ne parlais pas trs bien franais (background), et jtais un peu timide (background). The imperfect is formed by dropping the ons ending from the present tense nous form of the verb and adding the following endings: Table 1shows how the imparfait is formed with regular verbs. Quallait-il faire aprs son bain ? Ctait un jour spcial.It was September and the weather was nice in Paris. Again, this is not set in stone. In some situations, when you use would in English, we would use the imparfait in French. Pass compos vs imparfait is mostly a question of specific event vs background or ongoing event. So we are going to face a decision, where the writer/speaker will choose the construction s/hell use not only according to grammar but also to the twists and dynamism s/he wants to give to the story: For more subtleties about pass-compos and imparfait, here is a great video made by Hugo from InnerFrench were he explains in French the differences: he actually uses my selfie/ wide angle metaphor and talks about this article at the end of the video. Jtais si contente dtre l. ENDS AUG 8th, This popular lesson focuses on the use and differences of Pass-Compos vs Imparfait in the French language, with many examples and explanations + videos. Il a travers son jardin, il sest approch de sa piscine et il a descendu lchelle pour entrer dans leau. The French imperfect is a French tense used for the past. DAYS OF SUMMER SALE 20% OFF ALL AUDIOBOOKS. Now, were going to watch the same video of Philippe, but in between what took place (in pass-compos), Ill describe what was happening in Philippes head and around him, using Imparfait, illustrating the difference between pass-compos and imparfait. The imparfait is a great French tense because it is very regular. French II: Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Infinitive Preceded by Adjectives and Nouns, Infinitive in Interrogatives Exclamations. My bilingual novels are recorded at different levels of enunciation (enunciated and modern).

Javais vingt ans(background)et je me promenais dans Paris (background). Here is a short videoI madeto illustrate Pass Compos using the popular videogame The Sims 4. Et puis il sest lev, il sest mis en maillot de bain, et il est sorti de chez lui. Thepass composdescribes specific actions that were completed in the past : Dans ma jeunesse, une fois, je suis alle au Canada In my youth, once, Ive been to Canada. The imperfect describes habitual actions in the past: Le lundi, je dnais chez ma soeurEvery Mondays, I used to have dinner at my sisters. More Articles from Camille Chevalier-Karfis, I publish posts every week. To achieve this, only one solution: work with level adapted French audio novels. Previous For those, you can rely on translation 90% of the time. This is more advanced of course, and may be a bit confusing, so beginner French students may want to skip it and go directly to the related links I suggest below :-). Je suis sortie de lhpital le soir (specific event) et aprs cette aventure, mon sjour Paris sest pass sans problme (specific event). I used very simple vocabulary.

The background is blurred. My French audiobooks are exclusively available on French Today. What French past tense should you chose when you are telling a story? Q & A section will entice you to practice out loud what youve learned and improve your confidence when handling conversations. Merci Hugo! In the imperfect, an extra i is necessary in the nous and vous forms: The following verbs have spelling changes in the imperfect: Verbs ending in cer change c to before a to maintain the soft c sound in the je, tu, il, and ils forms: Verbs ending in ger insert a silent e between g and a to maintain the soft g sound in the je, tu, il, and ils forms: Irregular verbs follow the same rules for the formation of the imperfect as do regular verbs. If you accept that, then its a (rare) example of a past progressive (an ING construction) being translated as a pass-compos.

Il a nag un petit peu sur place, et puis, il a commenc faire des longueurs. Thepass compos is a French tense used for the past. A share is always extremely appreciated at well!

Les oiseaux chantaient(background), le soleil brillait(background). The French everybody speaks in France today is NOT the overly enunciated, extremely formal French usually taught to foreigners. Most of my audiobooks are recorded at several speeds to help you conquer the modern French language. For this to really sink in, I suggest you start by watching the first pass compos video, then watch this one. Des voitures passaient derrire mois et jentendais le bruit de la ville tout autour de moi. Ctait le 3 juillet (background).

Removing #book# To form the imperfect, simply drop the ons and add the imperfect endings given earlier: Note: Falloir (to be necessary) and pleuvoir (to rain) are used only in the il form: il fallait (it was necessary) and il pleuvait (it was raining). Aprs un moment, il a pos sa guitare, il a pris son assiette et la mise dans le lave-vaisselle ; il a ouvert le frigidaire, pris les ingrdients pour se faire un croque monsieur, et il a commenc cuisiner. Sometimes, I just cannot explain to my students why I used Pass Compos over Imparfait or Imparfait versus Pass Compos. Ctait le mois de septembre et il faisait beau Paris. This notion of 2 actions in the past taking place at the same time is a bit tricky in French since it could be translated in many different ways. Jai parl, nous avons tudi, ils ont choisi, elles sont alles. Brrr, leau tait un peu fraiche ce soir-l ! Mmmm, a sentait bon. Now lets be more specific about Pass Compos vs Imparfait. Il a couru pour rentrer dans la maisoncar il avait un peu froid : il faisait plutt frais pour la saison. First, lets point out that I translate this sentence as You came in as I was going out.

Its not like with the French subjunctive. A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.

In this video, well concentrate on what took place in Philippes life, the series of actions he did that evening. Can You Understand Todays Spoken French?

It was a special day. You cannot just translate from English. Lets take that sentence tu es rentre quand je suis sortie. Now, I would like to give you a feeling of the difference in dynamics between pass-compos and imparfait. Some French time expressions are usually followed by the imperfect since they introducehabitualevents: I suggest you memorize them, its a big help. If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment. Il a sal son croque-monsieur, la retourn une fois de plus, et puis il la mis sur une assiette, et il est all sasseoir pour dner. Il est entr dans son bain et sest lav. Il a dcid daller prendre un bain pour se rincer, et se rchauffer. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable French audiobooks focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. The pass compos describes what took place, specific events. Imagine 2 pictures: a selfie vs a wide angleshot. The pass compos describes actions that constitute the storyline. You need to understand why we use which tense: the context determines the tense. When used in the same sentence, Imparfait will be used for the background action, the longer action thats going on, and Pass-compos for the specific shorter action. Its not the expression that dictates the use of Imparfait or Pass-Compos; its the context. Its called limparfait in French.

Want to keep up to date with the new content? Dont think in term of actions: actions can be in both PC or imperfect. Il a sorti son tlphone et a envoy un texto son ami Pierre. When it comes to understanding imparfait vs pass-compos, there is the theory and then the practice. I was in front of the Arc de Triomphe and I was taking a selfie. And that is where style,dynamics, perspectives come into the picture. I suggest you learn by heart the 2 sentences below. Here is a list that may help. You have to understand the situation. French auxiliary verb tre: conjugations and pronunciation, how to choose tre or avoir for Pass Compos. The imperfect describes the background, it sets the scene: You may be in the picture: you may even be an important part of it but everything else is as important as you and you are capturing and describing the whole scene. Le serveur est tout de suite revenu avec mon caf (specific event). Its time to practice! The pass compos corresponds mostly to theEnglish simple pastor thepresent perfect. Reinforce all these concepts in the context of an ongoing story recorded at 2 different levels of enunciation (enunciated & modern).

Jtais devant lArc de Triomphe et je prenais un selfie. You may be interested in my free audio guide about the French auxiliary verb tre: conjugations and pronunciation. We conjugate thepass composusing the auxiliary verbsavoir or trefollowed by thepast participle(le participe pass) of the verb. However, the imperfect can also correspond to the Englishsimple pasttense like in my example above I was, we went, but also to expressions such asused to. Philippe faisait des progrs en cuisine ! Thats what I am going to explain in this article. Je me suis rveille (specific event), mais je me sentais encore faible (ongoing). The Imparfait describes ongoing background actions, what was happening at that time (often with a to be + ing construction in English) these actions had started before, and may continue after.

Its not the expression that dictates the use of Imparfait or Pass-Compos; its the context. Its not just slang.