Passé Composé vs Imparfait

French uses these two tenses to distinguish between background and foreground. Imagine you are describing a party last Saturday. The fact that the music was loud and people were dancing is imparfait. This is the "way things were." Then, suddenly, someone dropped a cake. That specific, finished action is the passé composé. Think of it like a camera. The imparfait is the wide-angle video shot that keeps rolling. The passé composé is the quick Polaroid snapshot of a single moment. If the action has a clear beginning and end, go with the snapshot. If it is a continuous state or habit, stick with the video.

1. 1For the passé composé, you need two parts. First, use the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in the present tense. Second, add the past participle of your main verb. For example: J'ai mangé or Je suis allé.
2. 2For the imparfait, start with the nous form of the present tense. Drop the -ons ending. Add the specific endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
3. 3The only irregular stem for the imparfait is être, which becomes ét-. Everything else follows the rule perfectly.
4. 4Remember that passé composé often translates to "did" or "have done." Imparfait usually translates to "was doing" or "used to do."

Use the passé composé for specific, completed events. This is for the "main plot points" of your day. If you can put a specific time on it, use this tense. Examples include "I bought a car" or "He left at five." It is also the tense for a sequence of actions. "I woke up, I brushed my teeth, and I left." Each step is a finished block.

Use the imparfait for descriptions and background info. This covers the weather, time, age, and feelings. "It was raining" or "I was happy" both require the imparfait. It is also your go-to for habits. If you did something regularly in the past, use this. "When I was young, I played football every day." It describes the scene before the action starts.

Do not use the passé composé for things that were ongoing when something else happened. If you say J'ai dormi quand le téléphone a sonné, it sounds like you slept *because* it rang. You should say Je dormais (I was sleeping) to show the background state.

Avoid using the imparfait for sudden, one-time interruptions. If you are telling a story about an interview, the fact that you arrived late is a passé composé moment. It is a specific event that changed the course of the story. Don't use imparfait just because you think the past always needs to sound "descriptive." If it is a finished deed, it is passé composé.

Many students use the passé composé for every past action. This makes your French sound like a robot reading a grocery list. You lose the nuance of the story. Another classic is mixing up the triggers. Words like soudain (suddenly) always want the passé composé. Words like souvent (often) almost always crave the imparfait.

Watch out for verbs like être and avoir. Learners often use J'ai été when they should use J'étais. Use J'étais for almost all descriptions of your state of mind or the environment. Only use J'ai été if the state started and ended abruptly. It is like a grammar traffic light; imparfait is the green light that stays on, while passé composé is the flash of the camera.

In English, we have "I walked" and "I was walking." French follows a similar logic but is more strict. In English, you might say "I lived there for ten years" using the simple past. In French, if those ten years are a finished block, you use passé composé: J'ai habité. If you are describing your life during that time without focusing on the end, you might use imparfait.

Think of an interview scenario. You describe your previous job's responsibilities using the imparfait because they were habits. But you describe your specific achievements using the passé composé because they were distinct successes. This contrast gives your speech professional depth.