Le passé composé vs. l'imparfait
Which one to use, and when? The single most asked question at A2.
Both tenses talk about the past. That is the whole problem: English uses one tense where French makes you choose, so there is no habit to fall back on.
The short version
Passé composé is for things that happened. One event, finished, with a beginning and an end. Imparfait is for how things were — the background, the habit, the state that was already going on.
| Passé composé | Imparfait | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | a completed event | a background or a habit |
| Typical clue | hier, soudain, une fois | toujours, souvent, tous les jours |
| English feel | "I did", "I have done" | "I was doing", "I used to do" |
The two in one sentence
The clearest way to feel the difference is a sentence that needs both:
- Je regardais la télé quand le téléphone a sonné. — I was watching TV when the phone rang.
The watching is the background — imparfait. The ringing interrupts it, one finished event — passé composé. Almost every story you tell in French has this shape: a scene, then something that happens in it.
The trap worth knowing
Some verbs change meaning depending on which you pick:
- Je savais — I knew (already, as a state)
-
J'ai su — I found out (the moment I learned it)
-
Je pouvais — I was able to (I had the ability)
- J'ai pu — I managed to (and I did it)
- Je devais — I was supposed to
- J'ai dû — I had to, and so I did