Most French students know how to conjugate these two tenses, but they always have trouble deciding which one to use because they both convey past actions. Almost every book on French will tell you the following explanation or something similar: the imparfait is used for incomplete actions, and the passé composé is used for complete actions. This is true, but it's a little too vague. When I tutor students, I use the acronymsHIDE and STARS.
Conjugating the imparfait is easy. Take the nous form of the present indicative, remove the ending -ons, and add the appropriate endings.
parler
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
parlais
|
parlions
|
2
|
parlais
|
parliez
|
3
|
parlait
|
parlaient
|
finir
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
finissais
|
finissions
|
2
|
finissais
|
finissiez
|
3
|
finissait
|
finissaient
|
vendre
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
vendais
|
vendions
|
2
|
vendais
|
vendiez
|
3
|
vendait
|
vendaient
|
There is only one irregular verb in the imparfait. (Most grammar books call this verb irregular. But if you look closely at the conjugations, the endings are the same. Only the stem is irregular.)
être
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
étais
|
étions
|
2
|
étais
|
étiez
|
3
|
était
|
étaient
|
To learn the uses of the imparfait, use the acronym HIDE.
Habitual actions (used to + verb)
Incomplete actions (was/were + ing form of verb)
Descriptions in the past
Emotions/feelings (most of the time)
Whenever English uses the habitual past (used to + verb), French uses the imparfait. Whenever English uses the past progressive (was/were + ing form of verb), French ALWAYS uses the imparfait. The imparfait is also used to describe things in the past, and it is used when expressing one's emotions. Many French grammar books say that the imparfait is used when something happens repeatedly, but this is a flawed explanation. If one said J'ai lu ce livre it would require the passé composé. According to the flawed explanation, one would have to say Je lisais ce livre deux fois if one wanted to say I read this book twice. However, this is incorrect. It should be J'ai lu ce livre deux fois. When those grammar books say that the imparfait is used for actions that happen repeatedly, they mean to say that it is used for habitual actions (used to + verb).
Examples of the imparfait:
J'allais toujours au cinéma quand j'étais jeune.
I always went to the movies when I was young.
Elle parlait en espagnol.
She was speaking in French.
Sa voiture était blanche et n'avait que trois pneus.
His car was white and only had three tires.
Je ne me sentais pas bien.
I didn't feel well.
Conjugating the passé composé is much more difficult because it requires the use of an auxiliary verb. When conjugating the passé composé, you will need to know how to conjugate the verbs être andavoir in the present tense.
être
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
suis
|
sommes
|
2
|
es
|
êtes
|
3
|
est
|
sont
|
avoir
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
ai
|
avons
|
2
|
as
|
avez
|
3
|
a
|
ont
|
You will also need to know how to form past participles. For er verbs, remove the er and add é. For verbs, remove the ir and add i. For reverbs, remove the re and add u.
Examples:
Infinitive
|
Past Participle
|
parler
|
parlé
|
finir
|
fini
|
vendre
|
vendu
|
The following are examples of verbs conjugated in the passé composé. The only verb whose past participle is irregular is être, i.e. été.
parler
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
ai parlé
|
avons parlé
|
2
|
as parlé
|
avez parlé
|
3
|
a parlé
|
ont parlé
|
finir
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
ai fini
|
avons fini
|
2
|
as fini
|
avez fini
|
3
|
a fini
|
ont fini
|
vendre
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
ai vendu
|
avons vendu
|
2
|
as vendu
|
avez vendu
|
3
|
a vendu
|
ont vendu
|
être
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
ai été
|
avons été
|
2
|
as été
|
avez été
|
3
|
a été
|
ont été
|
The most difficult part of learning the passé composé is knowing when to use the verb avoir or the verb être. Generally speaking, any verb of motion or change requires être. Pronominal verbs (often called reflexive verbs) require être. Whenever a verb that would usually require être has a direct object, avoir must be used instead. All other verbs require avoir. To learn the verbs that use être in the passé compose, use the following mnemonic device:
Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp
There is also a YouTube video that explains this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04EwaXjE__o
Descendre
Retourner
|
Mourir
Rester
Sortir
|
Venir
Arriver
Naître
Devenir
Entrer
Revenir
Tomber
Rentrer
Aller
Monter
Partir
|
aller
| |
Singular
|
Plural
|
1
|
suis allé(e)
|
sommes allé(e)s
|
2
|
es allé(e)
|
êtes allé(e)(s)
|
3
|
est allé(e)
|
sont allé(e)s
|
As you can see from the verb chart, any verb that requires être must also agree in gender and number.
To learn the uses of the passé composé, use the acronym STARS.
Sudden occurrence
Time limit/Completed Action
Action disrupts the action of the verb in the imperfect
Reaction to another action
Series of distinct instances
As you can see, all of these fall under the category of "complete action" if we return to our initial explanation of the passé composé. But it helps to have clarification like this.
Examples of the passé composé:
Il a commencé à pleuvoir.
It started to rain.
(sudden occurence, complete action)
Il a plu pendant deux heures.
It rained for two hours
(time limit)
J'étudiais quand le téléphone a sonné.
I was studying when the phone rang.
(action disrupts action of imparfait verb)
Quand mon frère a porté mes chaussures, je me suis
fâché.
When my brother wore my shoes, I got mad.
(reaction to another action)
J'ai lu ce livre deux fois.
I read this book twice.
(series of distinct instances)
Decide whether to use the imparfait or the passé composé in the following sentences. Afterwards, translate them into French.
1. It was raining.
2. I saw my teacher.
3. I was reading a book when I saw a cat.
4. She read this book three times.
5. They didn't come because they were tired.
6. We used to go to the movies all the time.
7. What were you doing?
8. What did you do?
9. It rained for three hours.
10. The house was small and white.
11. I ate there every day.
12. What did you eat?
13. What were you eating?
14. The man was singing in Spanish.
15. The man sang in Spanish.
Aspect
Another way of explaining the differences between the imperfect and the preterit is using the concept of aspect. Imperfective aspect expresses incomplete actions, and perfective aspect expresses complete actions. This is really just a fancy explanation of the definition explained in the beginning of the chapter.
Aspect
|
Meaning
|
Tense
|
Imperfective
|
Incomplete
|
Imparfait
|
Perfective
|
Complete
|
Passé Composé
|
"What was going on?"/ "What happened?
If the acronyms HIDE and STARS do not work for you, you can ask yourself if the situation you are talking about answers the question What was going on? (imparfait)
or the question What happened? (passé composé). This is good if the situation cannot be explained in the above rules. For example, if you wanted to say The cat was eating, you would immediately know that the imperfect is required because this is an incomplete action (was/were + ing form). But you can also ask yourself if this situation answers one of the above mentioned questions. This situation answers the question What was going on?, but it does not answer the question What happened? The translation, therefore, is "Le chat mangeait."
Event/State
If you're a really advanced student and/or understand linguistic terminology, you may find Sharon Rand's explanation of the imparfaitand the passé composé more enlightening.
Events are expressed by the passé composé. Rand writes that "an event is complete within itself without taking into account that which happens before or after" (Rand, 24).
States are expressed by the imparfait. Rand writes that a "state is a complete absence of change" and "that all the phases of the static situation are therefore identical to one another" (Rand, 24).
Indirect Speech/Direct Speech
The imparfait is also used for indirect or reported speech. Direct speech is when a speaker is repeating what someone else said verbatim. Indirect speech is when a speaker says what someone else said that is not verbatim. Look at the following sentences.
My sister said, "I am going to France." (direct speech)
Ma soeur m'a dit, "Je vais à France." (direct speech)
My sister said that she was going to France. (indirect/reported speech)
Ma soeur m'a dit qu'elle allait à France. (indirect/reported speech)
Agreement with Past Participle
If a verb in the passé composé (or any other compound tense) has a direct object pronoun, the past participle of the main verb has to agree in gender and number just like an adjective.
J'ai reçu les lettres.
Je les ai reçues.
The past participle has an e and an s because the word lettres is feminine and plural.
If a direct object precedes the verb, the past participle must agree in gender and number.
La femme que j'ai vue était belle.
The woman that (whom) I saw was beautiful.
Plus-que-parfait
The plus-que-parfait is a French past tense that is used to express a past action that occurs before another past action or to express had + past participle. The plus-que-parfait is formed with the imparfait of either avoir or etre. The rules regarding avoir and etre in the plus-que-parfait are the same as they are in the passé composé.
Example:
Quand mes amis m'ont téléphoné, j'avais déjà fini tous mes devoirs.
When my friends called me, I had already finished all my homework.
