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All 14 Flashcards — Passé composé vs imperfect
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Question
le passé composé (rôle)
Answer
completed events: what happened, a single action, a sequence (j'ai mangé, je suis parti)
Question
l'imparfait (rôle)
Answer
background: description, habits, what was going on (je mangeais, il faisait froid)
Question
manger : j'ai mangé vs je mangeais
Answer
j'ai mangé = I ate (once, finished — passé composé); je mangeais = I used to eat / I was eating (imparfait)
Question
aller : je suis allé vs j'allais
Answer
je suis allé = I went (once — passé composé, ÊTRE verb); j'allais = I used to go / I was going (imparfait)
Question
How is the passé composé built?
Answer
Auxiliary (avoir OR être) in the present + the past participle: j'ai fini, je suis allé(e), je me suis levé(e).
Question
How is the imparfait built?
Answer
Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons, add -ais/-ais/-ait/-ions/-iez/-aient: nous mangeons → je mangeais.
Question
marqueurs → passé composé
Answer
hier, tout à coup, une fois, lundi dernier (single, dated, finished moment)
Question
marqueurs → imparfait
Answer
toujours, d'habitude, tous les jours, pendant que (repetition or ongoing scene)
Question
Pendant que je lisais, le téléphone a sonné
Answer
ongoing action (imparfait lisais) + the single event that interrupts (passé composé a sonné)
Question
âge dans le passé
Answer
imparfait: «j'avais huit ans» (I was eight) — never «j'ai eu huit ans»
Question
climat dans le passé (décor)
Answer
imparfait: «il faisait froid / il pleuvait» (it was cold / it was raining) as background
Question
Which verbs take ÊTRE in the passé composé?
Answer
Movement/change verbs (aller, venir, partir, arriver, rester, tomber, naître, mourir…) and ALL reflexive verbs; the participle then agrees with the subject.
Question
How do you decide passé composé or imparfait?
Answer
Ask: the action that happened (passé composé) or the scene/background around it (imparfait)?
Question
Most common anglophone mistakes here?
Answer
Using the passé composé for description/age/weather, using the imparfait for a one-off event, and using «avoir» instead of «être» for movement/reflexive verbs.
Read the notes
Full study notes for Passé composé vs imperfect
Topic 3.2 hub
Past tenses
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French B exam skills
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