SPEAKING ABOUT THE PAST IN FRENCH
Using the imperfect and passé composé together:
LE PASSÉ COMPOSÉ – Say what happened in the past.
L’IMPARFAIT – Describe the past.
Watch my video lesson about using the imperfect and passé composé together below, and you can download a PDF of this lesson guide in my private French Grammar Library.
Ce matin je me suis réveillé(e) à sept heures.
This morning I woke up at seven o’clock.
Mon fils est venu dans ma chambre.
My son came into my room.
Il m’a demandé, “Maman, on va manger?”
He asked me, “Mom, are we going to eat?”
The passé composé is used when something happened. It began at some point, and then it ended.
Je lui ai dit que j’étais encore fatigué(e) et que je voulais dormir un peu plus.
I told him (that) I was still tired and (that) I wanted to sleep a little more.
In this example, the imperfect is used to describe how I was feeling and what I wanted at that time.
Not always, but usually the verb être is used to describe something in the past, so we use it in the imperfect tense.
Je me suis levé(e).
I got up.
Je suis allé(e) dans la cuisine.
I went into the kitchen.
Il faisait un peu froid.
It was a little cold.
Alors, j’ai mis un gilet.
So, I put on a sweater (cardigan).
Ma fille est venue dans la cuisine.
My daughter came into the kitchen.
Elle m’a fait un gros câlin.
She gave me a big hug.
Elle m’a dit qu’elle n’avait pas envie de manger tout de suite.
She told me (that) she didn’t feel like eating right away.
Not always, but usually the verb avoir is used to describe something in the past, so we use it in the imperfect tense.
Elle voulait s’habiller d’abord.
She wanted to get dressed first.
Je lui ai dit d’aller s’habiller.
I told her to go get dressed.
Elle est revenue dans la cuisine et elle m’a dit qu’elle était prête.
She came back into the kitchen and she told me (that) she was ready.
GET READY TO TELL A STORY IN THE PAST!
Set the scene: Je faisais la cuisine…
l’imparfait I was cooking…
What happened: …quand le téléphone a sonné.
le passé composé …when the phone rang.
IMPERFECT TENSE CLUES
chaque semaine, mois, année (every week, month, year)
toujours (always) (past)
souvent (often)
de temps en temps (from time to time)
tous les jours (every day)
le week-end (on the weekends)
le matin, le soir (in the mornings, evenings)
le lundi, le mardi (on Mondays, on Tuesdays)
normalement, d’habitude (usually)
parfois, quelquefois (sometimes)
en général, généralement (in general, generally)
rarement (rarely)
PASSÉ COMPOSÉ CLUES
une semaine, un mois, un an (one week, month, year)
un jour (one day)
un week-end (one weekend)
lundi, mardi… (on Monday, on Tuesday)
une fois, deux fois (once, twice)
un matin, un soir (one morning, one evening)
toujours (always – and even now)
plusieurs fois (several times)
soudain (suddenly)
tout à coup (all of a sudden)
d’abord (first of all)
ensuite, puis (next, then)
enfin (finally)
finalement (in the end)
Using the Imperfect and Passé Composé Together Video Lesson
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