Tutorial
In Course: French B1: Confident Conversations

Select Passé Composé or Imparfait in Spoken French Narration

Learn the crucial B1 skill of choosing between the passé composé for completed past events and the imparfait for background descriptions, ongoing actions, and habits in spoken French.

A candid, sun-drenched photograph of a bustling outdoor French market, with a hand reaching out to select a vibrant piece of fruit from a colorful stall. The scene captures the essence of everyday activities and the arrival of shoppers, with a soft-focus background of other market-goers and fresh produce.
en-GB → fr-FR

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Deck Contents

19 Cards
Lesson#1
In French, when telling a story in the past, you need to choose between two tenses: the imparfait and the passé composé. The imparfait sets the scene and describes background information, like what was happening or how things were. The passé composé describes the main, completed actions or events of the story.
Lesson#2
Let's look at interrupting an ongoing action. Use the imparfait for the background action that was in progress, and the passé composé for the specific event that happened. For example, 'Je marchais quand j’ai vu Paul' means 'I was walking when I saw Paul'. The walking was the background, and seeing Paul was the event.
Quiz#3
Translate into French: 'I was walking when I saw Paul.'

Je marchais quand j’ai vu Paul.

Quiz#4
Translate into French: 'We were eating when the phone rang.'

Nous mangions quand le téléphone a sonné.

Quiz#5
Translate into French: 'She was reading when he arrived.'

Elle lisait quand il est arrivé.

Quiz#6
Translate into French, referring to a mixed group: 'They were sleeping when they heard a noise.'

Ils dormaient quand ils ont entendu un bruit.

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