![]() ![]() I used to live in the US again makes you feel the length of time while I came back to France is clearly the storyline. J’habitais aux États-Unis et puis je suis rentrée en France = I used to live in the US and then I came back to France. And you see they all express something that lasts in time. it must become a reflex in your brains IMPARFAIT. Any time you need to use this format I was eating, she was thinking, we were wondering, etc. Very important and helpful thing for you to notice here, the format was + ing I was taking. I was taking a shower sets the scene, suddenly the phone rang is the action. Je me douchais quand soudainement le téléphone a sonné = I was taking a shower when suddenly the phone rang. I know what you’re thinking, that’s a little abstract, so how about I give examples? The background of the painting is imparfait: it sets the scene. The foreground of the painting is passe compose: it’s the storyline where the action takes place. Here’s an image to help you remember these 2 opposite elements. Now imparfait is associated with a description in the past or a lasting action. In general it’s safe to associate passé composé with a specific event or an action that has a clear beginning and a clear ending. Ok now we’re done with endings let’s help you figure out which tense, imparfait or passé composé, to choose. The subject is Bruno et Sophie so you match the gender (masculine since mixed always becomes masculine) and the number (plural we have 2 people now) of Bruno et Sophie with the past participle, which becomes tombés. The subject je is someone called Sophie so you match the gender (feminine) and the number (singular again it’s only one Sophie) of je with the past participle, which becomes tombée. The subject je is someone called Bruno so you match the gender (masculine) and the number (singular it’s only one man called Bruno) of je with the past participle, which becomes tombé, you don’t need to add anything because masculine singular is the standard form for French. When you use the auxiliaire être, you need to match the past participle with the gender (feminine or masculine) and the number (singular or plural) of the subject. Let’s continue with tomber and the auxiliaire être It is placed before the verb so you match the gender (feminine) and the number (plural) of les with the past participle, which becomes mangées. The complement is les, the pronoun replacing the apples. Je les ai mangées = I ate them (them being the apples) It is placed before the verb so you match the gender (feminine) and the number (singular) of la pomme with the past participle, which becomes mangée. La pomme que j’ai mangée = the apple that I ate It is placed after the verb so you don’t touch the past participle mangé. Sounds like Gibberish?!? That’s normal but I’m sure you’ll understand with a few examples. You need to match the past participle with the gender (feminine or masculine) and the number (singular or plural) of the complement, when this complement is placed before the verb. Still I have to teach it to you properly. If it can make you feel better I will tell you now, most French people get it wrong, so not the end of the world if you too get it wrong. ![]() So easy it’s just habité with é at the end it doesn’t change YES! Ok that’s a little lie… Let’s begin with habiter and the auxiliaire avoir second the verb tomber, to fall, which uses the auxiliaire être ![]() first the verb habiter, to live, which uses the auxiliaire avoir So the endings for imparfait are: ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient I randomly chose this verb and it doesn’t matter which one anyway since the endings for imparfait are regular, they’re always the same, they never change. The endings for imparfait with the verb comprendre, to understand. So, I’m going to remind you about the conjugation and then I want to make sure you remember the major differences between these 2 tenses to help you choose in case you ever are in doubt. We will go through all the endings, auxiliary verbs, when to match or not the past participle with the subject, and I’ll also give you lots of tips so you can more confidently choose between the imparfait and the passé composé when building your French sentences. If you ever feel unsure about whether to use the imparfait or the passé composé and if you need a little a reminder on how to pronounce and how to conjugate these 2 French past tenses, which are the main ones we use, this video is for you! ![]()
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