Le Passé - French Past Tenses
One of the most striking differences between French and English is in verb tenses. Learning how to use the various past tenses can be very tricky, because English has several tenses which either do not exist in or do not translate literally into French - and vice versa.
During the first year of French study, every student becomes aware of the troublesome relationship between the two main past tenses. L'imparfait [je mangeais] translates to the English imperfect [I was eating] while le passé composé [j'ai mangé] literally translates to the English present perfect [I have eaten] but can also be translated as the English simple past [I ate] or the emphatic past [I did eat].
It is extremely important to understand the distinctions between passé composé and imparfait in order to use them correctly and thus express past events accurately. Compare the uses of these two tenses in the following table.
Imparfait / Passé composéI. / An ongoing action with no specified completion / vs / One or more events or actions that began and ended in the past
J'allais en France - I was going to France
Je visitais des monuments - I was visiting monuments / Je suis allé en France - I went to France
J'ai visité des monuments - I visited some monuments
II. / A habitual or repeated action / vs / A single event
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 / J'ai voyagé en France l'année dernière - I traveled in France last year
J'ai visité Paris samedi - I visited Paris on Saturday
III. / Description/background info; set the scene of how things were or what was happening when... (to be + -ing usually indicates this) / + / ...when something happened, interrupting the description/background.
J'étais à la banque quand...
- I was at the bank when...
Je vivais en Espagne quand...
- I was living in Spain when... / ... quand Chirac est arrivé.
- ... when Chirac arrived.
... quand je l'ai trouvé.
- ... when I found it.
IV. / General description of physical or mental state of being / vs / Change in physical or mental state at a precise moment or for an isolated cause
J'avais peur des chiens - I was afraid of dogs / J'ai eu peur quand le chien a aboyé - I was scared when the dog barked
V. / Expression of the time of day or age in the past
Il était cinq heures du matin - It was five a.m.
C'était son anniversaire; il avait douze ans - It was his birthday; he was twelve.
Thus l'imparfait describes past situations, while le passé composé narrates specific events. In addition, l'imparfait can set the stage for an event expressed with the passé composé (see III, above).
Compare the following passages:
Quand j'avais 15 ans, je voulais être psychiatre. Je m'intéressais à la psychologie parce que je connaissais beaucoup de gens très bizarres. Le week-end, j'allais à la bibliothèque et j'étudiais pendant toute la journée. / Un jour, je suis tombé malade et j'ai découvert les miracles de la médecine. J'ai fait la connaissance d'un médecin et j'ai commencé à étudier avec lui. Quand la faculté de médicine m'a accepté, je n'ai plus pensé à la psychologie.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. / 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 passé composé:
L'imparfait / Le passé composé
d'habitude / usually / une/deux (etc.) fois / once/twice (etc.)
de temps en temps / from time to time / plusieurs fois / several times
autrefois / formerly / soudainement / suddenly
le week-end / on the weekends / un week-end / one weekend
le lundi / on Mondays / lundi / on Monday
tous les jours / every day / un jour / one day
normalement / usually / tout d'un coup / all of a sudden
souvent / often
en général / in general, generally
chaque semaine, mois, année... / every week, month, year
le soir / in the evenings
le week-end / on the weekends
Note: There is a third tense, le passé simple, which technically translates to the English simple past tense, but is now used primarily in writing, in place of the passé composé - learn more.
Le Passé - French Past Tenses - Test
Test your understanding of le passé by translating the sentences in this quiz. Feel free to look back at the lesson. :-)
1. I was born in the United States.
2. I was seven years old when my family moved to France.
3. We visited the Louvre on Saturdays, except when it rained.
4. I looked at the Mona Lisa every time.
5. Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
6. I never went to the Eiffel Tower.
7. My father died when I was fifteen.
8. My mother wanted to return to the US, but I asked her to stay.
9. She decided to move anyway. I was very sad.
10. I returned to Paris when I was 18.
Answers below
Answers
1. Je suis né(e) aux Etats-Unis.
2. J'avais sept ans quand ma famille a déménagé en France.
3. Nous visitions le Louvre le samedi, sauf quand il pleuvait.
4. Je regardais la Jaconde chaque fois.
5. Leonardo da Vinci a peint la Jaconde.
6. Je ne suis jamais allé(e) à la Tour Eiffel.
7. Mon père est mort quand j'avais quinze ans.
8. Ma mère voulait retourner aux EU, mais je lui ai demandé de rester.
9. Elle a quand même décidé de déménager. J'étais très triste.
10. Je suis retourné(e) à Paris quand j'avais 18 ans.