Imparfait v.

Pass
Compos
Imparfait vs. Pass Compos

The imparfait
and the pass
compos are
both used to
express past
occurrences, but
their uses are
distinctly
different.
 Uses of Pass Compos
The pass compos is used to
express
complete past actions
d
For example:
Hier, jai fini mes devoirs
danglais.
Ce matin, nous avons vu un film
dans la classe dhistoire.
 Uses of Pass Compos
In these sentences, whether or
not it is stated, one could specify
an exact time at which the event
took place.
( 3h15)
Hier, jai fini ma rdaction
danglais.
( 9h36)
Ce matin, nous avons vu un
film dans la classe
dhistoire.
 Uses of Imparfait
The imparfait, however, by
definition, means imperfect. Its
uses are much less clearly
defined.
They fall into three basic
categories: (used to do)
habitual past actions (was doing)
continuing past actions (did)
conditions (non-actions)
 Habitual Past Actions
An habitual past
action is one that
occurred repeatedly
over a long period
of time.
For example:
We used to play baseball every
day.
Nous jouions au baseball tous les
jours.
 Habitual Past Actions
Careful! Habitual past actions are
not necessarily translated as
used
For to..
example:
Quand jtais jeune, je me promenais lcole
tous les jours.
might be translated 2 ways:
When I was young, I walked to school every day.
When I was young, I used to walk to school
every day.
The key is that the action occurred repeatedly in
the past.
 Continuing Past Actions
The imparfait is also used to
express actions that were going
on when something else
happened.
For example:
Je faisais la vaiselle quand
tu mas tlphon.
I was doing the dishes
when you called me.
 Continuing Past Actions
When it is used to express a continuing past
action, the imparfait is often, but not always,
used in combination with the pass compos.

Examples:
Quand jai vu Charles, il parlait avec Georges.
Il faisait beau. Le soleil brillait et il y avait
une belle brise. (Eventually, an action occurs
in a later sentence.)
Conditions (non-actions)
There is a class of
verbs which do not
express action at
all. Rather, they
express conditions,
states of being, or
states of mind.
When these verbs
occur in a past
tense, it is almost
always the
imparfait.
 Conditions (non-actions)
Some of these verbs
are:
tre avoir vouloir
pouvoir savoir dsirer
connatre penser croire
se sentir esprer aimer
faire (w/ expressions of weather)
 Conditions (non-actions)
Examples:
non- non-
Quand javais
action six
ans,action
jaimais
jouer au cache-cache. non-
Ce matin, nous ne action
voulions pas
aller lcole.
non-
Jean ne savait
action pas faire son
devoir, et il tait trs frustr.
non-
action
 Summary
Remember that the
pass compos is
used to express
completed past
actions.

The imparfait expresses

habitual past actions
continuing past actions
conditions (non-actions)
 Test Yourself
Complete the following
sentences with the appropriate
verb form:
continuing past
action
Anne-Marie ______ en France
quand completed past
(habiter)action
elle __________.
(se marier)
 Test Yourself
completed past
Quand ils ____________
action le
chteau,
(quitter)
ils _________condition
fatigus, et il
(tre)
__________ trs chaud.
condition
(faire)
 Test Yourself
completed past
Le garon ____________
action nos
amis
(demander)
ce quils ___________ prendre.
condition
Ils
(vouloir) completed past
____________ une glce.
action

(commander)
 Test Yourself
condition
Quand elle _________ plus jeune,
(tre)
Suzanne ________ franais et
(parler) habitual past action

anglais. Mais elle __________

(oublier)completed past
action
langlais.
 Test Yourself
continuing past
Ma soeur __________ au football
action
(jouer)
quand elle ___________ et
completed past
(tomber)action
___________ la cheville.
(se fouler)completed past
action
 Test Yourself
condition
Quand j_________ neuf ans,
(avoir)
j __________ Paris, et j(e)
(habiter)condition
_________ le mtro tous les jours.
(prendre)habitual past action