French grammar
Passé composé vs imparfait
French has two main past tenses for storytelling. They are used together constantly, so learning to choose between them is the single biggest step in telling a story.
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French · lesson preview
Step 4Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
I would like a coffee, please.
- Order
- Translate
- Listen
- Speak
Say it out loud. Green landed, yellow was close.
Start freePassé composé: what happened
- A completed action: J'ai mangé une pizza.
- A single event or a sequence: Il est entré, il a salué et il s'est assis.
- A change or a result: Elle est arrivée à midi.
Imparfait: what was going on
- A habit: Chaque été, nous allions à la mer.
- Description and weather: Il faisait chaud et le ciel était bleu.
- Age: J'avais dix ans.
- A background action interrupted by an event: Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti.
How the passé composé is built
It uses a helper verb plus the past participle. Most verbs use avoir (j'ai mangé). A short list of motion and state-change verbs, and all reflexive verbs, use être (je suis allé, elle est arrivée), and then the participle agrees with the subject.
Examples you can play
| Meaning · why | French |
|---|---|
| I ate a pizza. · passé composé: finished action | J'ai mangé une pizza. |
| When I was little, I used to play soccer. · imparfait: habit | Quand j'étais petit, je jouais au foot. |
| It was raining when I went out. · imparfait: scene; passé composé: event | Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti. |
| She arrived at noon. · passé composé with être | Elle est arrivée à midi. |
| It was hot. · imparfait: description | Il faisait chaud. |
| Every summer we went to the sea. · imparfait: repeated habit | Chaque été, nous allions à la mer. |
Mistakes to avoid
- Using the imparfait for a single finished event. Say Il a plu hier, not il pleuvait hier, for a particular event.
- Forgetting that être verbs agree with the subject: elle est partie, not elle est parti.
- Choosing by how long something lasted. The question is whether it is an event or a background.
More on learning French: start French free.
Which verbs use être in the passé composé?
A group of motion and state-change verbs, such as aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, naître and mourir, and all reflexive verbs.
Can I use the passé composé when speaking?
Yes. Everyday spoken French uses it for past events. The passé simple is mostly found in writing.
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