lIMPARFAIT ET LE PASS COMPOS
Compare the different uses of the imparfait vs the pass compos :
Limparfait
An ongoing action with no specified completion
J'allais en France - I was going to France
Je visitais des monuments - I was visiting
monuments
A habitual or repeated action
Je voyageais en France tous les ans - I traveled
(used to travel) to France every year
Je visitais souvent le Louvre - I often visited the
Louvre
Description/background info; set the scene of
how things were or what was happening when...
(to be + -ing usually indicates this)
J'tais la banque quand...
- I was at the bank when...
Je vivais en Espagne quand...
- I was living in Spain when...
General description of physical or mental state of
being
J'avais peur des chiens - I was afraid of dogs
Expression of the time of day or age in the past
Il tait cinq heures du matin - It was five a.m.
C'tait son anniversaire; il avait douze ans - It was
his birthday; he was twelve.
Thus l'imparfait describes past situations, while le pass compos narrates specific events. In particular,
l'imparfait can set the stage for an event expressed with the pass compos (see third case above).
Compare the following passages:
Quand j'avais 15 ans, je voulais tre psychiatre. Je
m'intressais la psychologie parce que je
connaissais beaucoup de gens trs bizarres. Le
week-end, j'allais la bibliothque et j'tudiais
pendant toute la journe.
When I was 15, I wanted to be a psychiatrist. I was
interested in psychology because I knew a lot of
really weird people. On the weekends, I used to go
to the library and study all day.
Le pass compos
One or more events or actions that began and ended
in the past
vs Je suis all en France - I went to France
J'ai visit des monuments - I visited some monuments
A single event
vs J'ai voyag en France l'anne dernire - I traveled in
France last year
J'ai visit Paris samedi - I visited Paris on Saturday
...when something happened, interrupting the
description/background.
+ quand jai rencontr Grard Depardieu.
- when I met Grard Depardieu.
quand jai fait la connaissance de mon pouse.
- when I met my wife.
Change in physical or mental state at a precise
moment or for an isolated cause
vs J'ai eu peur quand le chien a aboy - I was scared when
the dog barked
Un jour, je suis tomb malade et j'ai dcouvert les
miracles de la mdecine. J'ai fait la connaissance
d'un mdecin et j'ai commenc tudier avec lui.
Quand la facult de mdecine m'a accept, je n'ai
plus pens la psychologie.
One day, I got sick and discovered the wonders of
medicine. I met a doctor and started studying with
him. After the medical school accepted me, I didn't
think about psychology any more.
The following key words and phrases can help you figure out whether to use l'imparfait or le pass
compos:

L'imparfait Le pass compos

Dhabitude (usually) Une/deux fois (once/twice)
Normalement (usually)
De temps en temps (from time to time) Plusieurs fois (several times)
Autrefois (formerly) Soudainement (suddenly)
En gnral (in general) Tout dun coup (all of a sudden)
Le week-end (on the week-ends) Un week-end (one week-end)
Le lundi/le mardietc (on Mondays, Lundi/mardi (on Monday, on Tuesday)
Tuesdays) (one day)
Tous les jours (every day) Un jour (last week)
Souvent (often) La semaine dernire (last month)
Chaque (Each Le mois dernier (Last year)
semaine/mois/anne week/month/year...) Lanne dernire (last night)
Le soir/le matin (In the Hier soir (the day before
evening/morning) Avant-hier yesterday)
Parfois, quelquefois (sometimes) (then, next)
Tout le temps (all the time) Ensuite (the other day)
Lautre jour (that day)
Ce jour-l (That morning)
ce matin-l