Imparfait et Passé Composé Le passé Imparfait et Passé Composé

Three forms Imparfait Passé Composé Passé Simple (written tense only) In this presentation, we will only see the first two: Imparfait & Passé Composé.

Use the Imparfait when: Use the passé composé when: What is the difference? Use the Imparfait when: Use the passé composé when: You want to express: What you used to do. What used to be. What you were doing. What was going on. The description of the scene: (time, weather…) The description of the people involved: (looks, feelings, age…) You want to express: What you did. What happened. Action. An event that began and ended at a particular point in time in the past. The action was finite: it began and ended at a point in time in the past.

What does the imparfait look like? These are the imparfait endings: ais ait ions iez aient

This is the verb Regarder (to watch) in the imparfait. Je regardais (I used to watch) Tu regardais (You were watching…) Il, elle, on regardait Nous regardions Vous regardiez Ils, elles regardaient

The best way to form the imparfait. Begin with the NOUS form of the present tense. Manger in the present tense: Nous mangeons Je mangeais Tu mangeais Il, elle, on mangeait Nous mangions Vous mangiez Ils, elles mangeaient

Je mangeais au restaurant. When French people hear this, they understand: You used to eat at the restaurant. or You were eating at the restaurant…

Forming the Imparfait: Two Important exceptions Être : to be J’étais Tu étais Il, elle, on était Nous étions Vous étiez Ils, elles étaient Ils étaient jeunes. (They were young) Description. Aller: to go J’allais Tu allais Il, elle, on allait Nous allions Vous alliez Ils, elles allaient Nous allions au bord de la mer pendant les vacances. (We used to go to the seashore during our vacations)

What does the passé composé look like? The passé composé will have 2 words, just like it’s name. The first is the helper verb or auxiliary verb. The second is the past participle.

This is the verb regarder in the passé composé! J’ai regardé (I watched) Tu as regardé Il, elle, on a regardé Nous avons regardé Vous avez regardé Ils, elles ont regardé

J’ai regardé un bon film. When French people read this: They understand you saw a good movie. They also understand this was a finite event at a particular point in time in the past.

Regardé is the past participle. J’ai regardé J’ai is the helper verb. Regardé is the past participle. The passé composé is composed of 2 words!

Avoir Only two helper verbs Être J’ai Tu as Il, elle, on a Nous avons Vous avez Ils, elles ont Je suis Tu es Il, elle, on est Nous sommes Vous êtes Ils, elles sont

When do you use the helper verb AVOIR? With the passé composé MOST OF THE TIME.

When do you use the helper verb être? In the passé composé When the verb is on the list. When the verb is reflexive.

When the verb is on the list or reflexive Passé composé Avoir (Most of the time) or + Past participle Être When the verb is on the list or reflexive

What list? DR and MRS P VANDERTRAMP, is an acronym-mnemonic. Each capital letter stands for a verb which pairs with the verb être (to be) when conjugating into the passé composé tense. Descendre (past participle) descendu) Rester (past participle resté) Monter (past participle monté) Revenir (past participle revenu) Sortir (past participle sorti) Passer (past participle passé) Venir (past participle venu) Arriver (past participle arrivé) Naître (past participle né) Devenir (past participle devenu) Entrer (past participle entré) Retourner (past participle retourné) Tomber (past participle tombé) Rentrer (past participle rentré) Aller (past participle allé) Mourir (past participle mort) Partir (past participle parti)

What is a reflexive verb? A reflexive verb infinitive is identified by its reflexive pronoun se, which is placed before the infinitive. (se regarder) A reflexive verb shows that the subject is performing the action upon itself and, therefore, the subject and the reflexive pronoun refer to the same person or thing. Je me regarde = I’m looking at myself.

Compare the reflexive verb in the present & in the passé composé. Verb ÊTRE + past participle. The verb: se regarder Je me regarde (I look at myself) Tu te regardes Il, elle, on se regarde Nous nous regardons Vous vous regarge Ils, elles se regardent The verb: se regarder Je me suis regardé (I looked at myself) Tu t’es regardé Il, elle, on s’est regardé Nous nous sommes regardés Vous vous étes regardés Ils se sont regardés

But what about the past participle? Okay so… The passé composé is composed of 2 words: The helper (auxiliary) verb & the past participle. There are two helper verbs: Avoir and Être. Use avoir most of the time. Use être when the verb is: on the list (aller for example) Je suis allé au parc. I went to the park. or reflexive (se regarder for example) Je me suis regardé dans le lac. I looked at myself in the lake. But what about the past participle?

Past participles Past participles are generally related to verb infinitives. Infinitives ending in er, for example, generally drop this ending and substitute é : J’ai chanté (I sang) Je suis tombé (I fell) Infinitives ending in ir generally drop this ending and substitute i : J’ai fini (I finished) Je suis sorti ( I went out) Infinitives ending in re generally drop this ending and substitute u : J’ai rendu (I returned) Je suis descendu (I went down)

A number of common verbs have irregular past participles: avoir to have : eu boire to drink : bu connaître to know : connu courir to run : couru devoir must : dû (due) être to be : été faire to do, make : fait falloir must, have to : fallu lire to read : lu mettre to put : mis ouvrir to open : ouvert pouvoir can, may : pu prendre to take : pris recevoir to receive : reçu rire to laugh : ri savoir to know : su vivre to live : vécu vouloir to want : voulu

The past in French Passé composé: More active Two helper verbs: Avoir or Être A past participle + More descriptive Imparfait: Start with the NOUS form of the verb in the present tense + ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient

A) Il a chanté une belle chanson. B) Elle chantait très bien. In A): When I see the passé composé, I understand: He sang a nice song at a particular moment in the past. In B): When I see the imparfait, I understand: She used to sing very well or she was singing very well.

Un jour… Un jour je suis allé au parc et j’ai vu un joli petit lapin. J’ai attrapé le petit lapin et je l’ai apporté chez moi. Je l’ai donné à ma maman. Only the passé composé is used here because I’m all action. Also, the action is finite (It began and ended at that point in time). One day, I went to the parc and I saw a cute little rabbit. I caught the little rabbit and I brought it home. I gave it to my mom. If I had described the rabbit or my mother’s reaction, I would have use the imparfait: Il était blanc et elle était furieuse. (It was white and she was furious) Note: None of the verbs are used to describe the rabbit although I do know it was little and cute.

Il faisait beau et la ville était très calme Il faisait beau et la ville était très calme. Les oiseaux chantaient et Pierre était heureux. Only the imparfait is used because I am entirely descriptive. The weather was nice and the town was very clam. The birds were singing, and Peter was happy.

Tout à coup… (all of a sudden…) Tout à coup, Pierre est tombé et il s’est cassé la jambe. Il est allé à l’hôpital. Il n’était plus très content. Pierre est tombé: Pierre fell at a certain moment in the past. (action) Il s’est cassé la jambe: He broke his leg at that certain moment in time. (action) Il est allé à l’hôpital: He went to the hospital. (action) Il n’était plus très content: He wasn’t very happy anymore. (Describing his feelings) Imparfait

Imparfait or passé composé? It was 4:30 in the afternoon. The weather was nice. A man was walking towards me. He was big and scary looking. I was afraid. Describing the scene, the man and the way I felt.

Imparfait of course! Il était quatre heures et demie de l’après-midi. Il faisait beau. Un homme marchait vers moi. Il était grand et épeurant. J’avais peur.

Imparfait or passé composé? Romeo went below Juliet’s window to sing her a love song. Her father saw him and he emptied a bucket of water on his head. Romeo went home. All action here. At a finite point in time, Romeo went… her father saw and emptied… and Romeo went home. (the action started and ended at that particular time in the past : finite)

Passé composé of course! Roméo est allé sous la fenêtre de Juliette pour lui chanter une chanson d’amour. Son père l’a vu et il lui a vidé un seau d’eau sur la tête. Roméo est rentré chez lui.