Past Tense Introduction & Review

TL;DR

You're going to learn about the main past tenses in French: the passé composé (most common) and the imparfait (for descriptions and ongoing actions). We'll see how to form them and when to use each, helping you talk about past events clearly.

1. The Mental Model

Think of the past in French like having two main camera modes: one for specific, completed "snapshots" of events (passé composé) and another for more continuous, "video-like" background actions or descriptions (imparfait).

2. The Core Material

In French, there are several ways to talk about the past, but for most everyday conversations, you'll mainly use two: the passé composé and the imparfait.

The Passé Composé: "Snapshots" of the Past

The passé composé is used for actions that happened at a specific point in the past and are now finished. Think of it as a completed event, like a "snapshot."

How to form the Passé Composé:

It's a compound tense, meaning it has two parts:
1. An auxiliary verb (avoir or être) conjugated in the present tense.
2. The past participle of the main verb.

Most verbs use avoir:

For most verbs, you'll use avoir as your auxiliary verb.

• J'ai mangé (I ate/have eaten)
• Tu as parlé (You spoke/have spoken)
• Il a fini (He finished/has finished)

To form the past participle:
* For -er verbs, drop -er and add -é (e.g., parler → parlé).
* For -ir verbs, drop -ir and add -i (e.g., finir → fini).
* For -re verbs, drop -re and add -u (e.g., vendre → vendu).
* Beware of irregular past participles (e.g., faire → fait, voir → vu, être → été).

Some verbs use être:

A smaller group of verbs, mostly those related to movement or changes of state, use être as their auxiliary verb. These are often remembered with the acronym DR. & MRS. VANDERTRAMP (or just DR. MRS. VANDERTRAMP).

• Descendre (to descend)
• Rentrer (to return home)
• Monter (to climb)
• Rester (to stay)
• Sortir (to leave)
• Venir (to come)
• Aller (to go)
• Naître (to be born)
• Devenir (to become)
• Entrer (to enter)
• Retourner (to return)
• Tomber (to fall)
• Revenir (to come back)
• Arriver (to arrive)
• Mourir (to die)
• Partir (to leave)

With être verbs, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.

• Il est allé. (He went.)
• Elle est allée. (She went.)
• Ils sont allés. (They (masc.) went.)
• Elles sont allées. (They (fem.) went.)

The Imparfait: "Video" of the Past

Photo by DS stories on Pexels

The imparfait is used for ongoing, habitual, or descriptive actions in the past. Think of it as setting the scene, like background video footage.

When to use the Imparfait:

• Descriptions in the past (e.g., "The weather was beautiful").
• Habitual actions (e.g., "Every day, I used to eat breakfast").
• Ongoing actions without a clear beginning or end (e.g., "While she was reading...").
• Mental or physical states (e.g., "He was tired," "She thought").

How to form the Imparfait:

1. Take the nous form of the verb in the present tense.
2. Drop the -ons ending.
3. Add the imparfait endings:
   • -ais (je)
   • -ais (tu)
   • -ait (il/elle/on)
   • -ions (nous)
   • -iez (vous)
   • -aient (ils/elles)

Example with parler (to speak):
* Present nous form: nous parlons
* Drop -ons: parl
* Add endings:
* Je parlais (I was speaking/used to speak)
* Tu parlais
* Il parlait
* Nous parlions
* Vous parliez
* Ils parlaient

The only truly irregular verb in the imparfait is être: j'étais, tu étais, etc.

Choosing Between Passé Composé and Imparfait

Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels

This is often the trickiest part! Here's a simple flow:

graph TD
    A["Past Action?"] --> B{"Is it a completed, specific event?"};
    B -- Yes --> C["Use Passé Composé"];
    B -- No --> D{"Is it a description, habitual action, or ongoing background?"};
    D -- Yes --> E["Use Imparfait"];
    D -- No --> F["Re-evaluate the context"];

3. Worked Example

Let's look at a short story:

"Hier, j'ai mangé une pomme. Le soleil brillait et il faisait chaud. Je marchais quand soudain, j'ai vu un ami."

Translation: "Yesterday, I ate an apple. The sun was shining and it was hot. I was walking when suddenly, I saw a friend."

• J'ai mangé (passé composé): A specific, completed action (eating the apple).
• Brillait and faisait (imparfait): Descriptions of the weather (shining, being hot).
• Je marchais (imparfait): An ongoing background action (walking).
• J'ai vu (passé composé): A sudden, specific event that interrupted the walking (seeing a friend).

4. Key Takeaways

• The passé composé is for single, completed actions in the past ("I ate," "She went").
• It usually uses avoir + past participle, but DR. MRS. VANDERTRAMP verbs use être.
• With être, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.
• The imparfait is for descriptions, habitual actions, or ongoing events in the past ("It was raining," "We used to play").
• Form the imparfait from the present tense nous form by dropping -ons and adding -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
• Use the passé composé for "what happened" and the imparfait for "what was happening" or "what it was like."

Common Mistakes to Avoid:
- Forgetting to make the past participle agree with the subject when using être.
- Using the passé composé for descriptions or habitual actions.
- Using the imparfait for sudden, one-time events.
- Mixing up the avoir and être auxiliary verbs.

5. Now Try It

Write three short sentences describing a past event. For the first sentence, describe a completed action using the passé composé. For the second sentence, describe the background or setting using the imparfait. For the third sentence, describe another completed action that happened during the background activity, using the passé composé.

Example of what success looks like: "Hier, j'ai visité Paris. Il faisait beau et beaucoup de gens se promenaient. J'ai acheté une baguette." (Yesterday, I visited Paris. The weather was nice and many people were walking around. I bought a baguette.)