1. Point de départ
You have already seen some uses of the passé composé versus the imparfait while talking about things and events in the past. Here are some other contexts in which the choice of the tense you use is important.
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2. The passé composé and the imparfait are often used together to narrate a story or an incident. In such cases, the imparfait is usually used to set the scene or the background while the passé composé moves the story along.
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5. When the passé composé and the imparfait occur in the same sentence, the action in the passé composé often interrupts the ongoing action in the imparfait.
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6. Depending on how you want to express the actions, either the passé composé or the imparfait can follow quand.
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7. Sometimes the use of the passé composé and the imparfait in the same sentence expresses a cause and effect.
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8. Certain adverbs often indicate a particular past tense.
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9. While talking about the past or narrating a tale, you might use the verb vivre (to live) which is irregular.
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10. The past participle of vivre is vécu
The past participle of vivre is vécu. The imparfait is formed like regular –re verbs by taking the nous form, dropping the –ons, and adding the endings.
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11. Essayez! Choisissez la forme correcte du verbe au passé.
1. Lise (a étudié /étudiait) toujours avec ses amis.
2. Maman (a fait /faisait) du yoga hier.
3. Ma grand-mère (passait /a passé) par là tous les jours.
4. D’habitude, ils (arrivaient /sont arrivés) toujours en retard.
5. Tout à coup, le professeur (entrait /est entré) dans la classe.
6. Ce matin, Camille (a lavé /lavait) le chien.
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