FlexiLingoIn one line
The passé composé for events, the imperfect for background — and a good story has both.
Phrases
Opening a story
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
L'année dernière, … | /la.ne dɛʁ.njɛʁ/ | last year |
Il y a deux ans, … | /i.lja døz ɑ̃/ | two years ago |
Un jour, … | /œ̃ ʒuʁ/ | one day |
Quand j'étais petit(e), … | /kɑ̃ ʒe.tɛ pə.ti/ | when I was little |
Je me souviens que… | /ʒə mə su.vjɛ̃ kə/ | I remember that |
Je vais te raconter… | /ʒə vɛ tə ʁa.kɔ̃.te/ | let me tell you about |
Ça s'est passé en 2020. | /sa sɛ pa.se ɑ̃ dø mil vɛ̃/ | it happened in 2020 |
C'était pendant les vacances. | /se.tɛ pɑ̃.dɑ̃ le va.kɑ̃s/ | it was during the holidays |
Moving the story along
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
D'abord, … | /da.bɔʁ/ | first |
Ensuite, … | /ɑ̃.sɥit/ | then |
Puis, … | /pɥi/ | next |
Après ça, … | /a.pʁɛ sa/ | after that |
Pendant ce temps, … | /pɑ̃.dɑ̃ sə tɑ̃/ | meanwhile |
Tout à coup, … | /tut a ku/ | suddenly |
Soudain, … | /su.dɛ̃/ | suddenly |
Au bout d'un moment, … | /o bu dœ̃ mo.mɑ̃/ | after a while |
Finalement, … | /fi.nal.mɑ̃/ | in the end |
À la fin, … | /a la fɛ̃/ | finally |
tout à coupandsoudainsignal that a passé composé is coming — a sudden event is not background.
Reacting and finishing
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
C'était incroyable ! | /se.tɛt ɛ̃k.ʁwa.jabl/ | it was incredible |
J'étais très surpris(e). | /ʒe.tɛ tʁɛ syʁ.pʁi/ | I was very surprised |
Heureusement, … | /ø.ʁøz.mɑ̃/ | fortunately |
Malheureusement, … | /ma.lø.ʁøz.mɑ̃/ | unfortunately |
Depuis, je fais attention. | /də.pɥi ʒə fɛz a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃/ | since then I've been careful |
Je ne l'oublierai jamais. | /ʒə nə lu.bli.ʁe ʒa.mɛ/ | I'll never forget it |
Voilà, c'est tout. | /vwa.la sɛ tu/ | that's it, that's all |
What the listener says
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Et alors ? | /e a.lɔʁ/ | and then? |
Ah bon ? | /a bɔ̃/ | really? |
C'est pas vrai ! | /sɛ pa vʁɛ/ | you're joking! |
Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ? | /kɛs ki sɛ pa.se/ | what happened? |
Et après ? | /e a.pʁɛ/ | and after that? |
Choosing between the two tenses
| What it is | Tense | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| an event, once | passé composé | J'ai vu un accident. | /ʒe vy œ̃.n‿ak.si.dɑ̃/ |
| background, a state | imperfect | Il faisait nuit. | /il fə.zɛ nɥi/ |
| a past habit | imperfect | Je prenais le bus tous les jours. | /ʒə pʁə.nɛ lə bys tu le ʒuʁ/ |
| description | imperfect | Il était grand, il portait un manteau. | /il e.tɛ ɡʁɑ̃ il pɔʁ.tɛ.t‿œ̃ mɑ̃.to/ |
| an interruption | composé + imperfect | Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné. | /ʒə dɔʁ.mɛ kɑ̃ lə te.le.fɔ.n‿a sɔ.ne/ |
| before another past | pluperfect | J'avais déjà mangé. | /ʒa.vɛ de.ʒa mɑ̃.ʒe/ |
A short story using all three:
Il était dix heures et il pleuvait. Je rentrais chez moi quand j'ai vu un homme qui courait. Il avait perdu son sac. Je l'ai aidé à le chercher.
| Tense colour | Its role | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
était, pleuvait, rentrais, courait | background | /e.tɛ/ · /plø.vɛ/ · /ʁɑ̃.tʁɛ/ · /ku.ʁɛ/ |
ai vu, ai aidé | events | /e vy/ · /e ɛ.de/ |
avait perdu | earlier still | /a.vɛ pɛʁ.dy/ |
Read that paragraph in English and the layers are identical: "It was ten o'clock and it was raining. I was going home when I saw a man who was running. He had lost his bag. I helped him look for it." Same three layers, same three tenses.
So the storytelling model transfers completely. What you have to build is the reflex of choosing the French forms — and the one place English will not help is that its plain past ("I took the bus every day") can be either French tense. See
pc-vs-imparfait.
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
| All passé composé makes a story flat | Without the imperfect there is no background. |
| All imperfect and the story never moves | Without the passé composé nothing happens. |
quand + passé composé interrupts | Je dormais quand il est arrivé. |
pendant que + imperfect is simultaneity | Pendant que je dormais, il travaillait. |
il y a for "ago" | il y a deux ans = two years ago. Not depuis. |
depuis takes the present | J'habite ici depuis deux ans — present, not past. |
tout à coup is followed by the passé composé | Because it is a sudden event. |
How to build a good story
three layers, and which tense each one takes
A story has three layers and each takes its own tense:
| Layer | Tense | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| the scene | imperfect | when, where, the weather, how people felt |
| the events | passé composé | what happened, in order |
| the backstory | pluperfect | what had happened before |
And always start with the first layer:
C'était l'été. Je travaillais à Paris et je n'avais pas beaucoup d'argent.— three imperfect sentences; the scene is set
Then bring in an event:
Un jour, j'ai reçu une lettre.— passé composé; the story begins
And go back if you need to:
Je l'avais attendue pendant des mois.— pluperfect; backstory
Three linguistic signals that tell the listener which layer they are in:
| Signal | Layer | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
C'était, il y avait, il faisait | scene | /se.tɛ/ · /il i a.vɛ/ · /il fə.zɛ/ |
un jour, tout à coup, soudain | event | /œ̃ ʒuʁ/ · /tu.t‿a ku/ · /su.dɛ̃/ |
avant ça, j'avais déjà | backstory | /a.vɑ̃ sa/ · /ʒa.vɛ de.ʒa/ |
In a speaking exam, control of these shifts is the difference between A2 and B1. A story told entirely in the passé composé is A2; one with an imperfect background is B1.
And this is a skill you already have in English. Every story you tell begins "it was raining and I was walking home when…" — scene in the past continuous, event in the past simple. You are not learning to narrate; you are learning which French forms carry the layers you already use.
The detail of the tense choice is in pc-vs-imparfait.