FlexiLingoIn one line
The passé composé says what happened. The imparfait says how things were.
The table
passé composé | imparfait | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says | an event | the backdrop |
| Does it have edges? | ✅ a clear start and finish | ❌ open, running |
| In a story | moves it forward | sets the scene |
| English | "I went", "I ate" | "I was going", "I used to eat", "it was" |
The working test
Can you ask "how many times?" or "exactly when?" → passé composé. Can you ask "what was it like?" → imparfait.
| Sentence | Which | Why |
|---|---|---|
Hier, j'ai mangé au restaurant. | composé | once, yesterday |
Quand j'étais enfant, je mangeais au restaurant. | imparfait | a habit, no edges |
Il faisait froid. | imparfait | backdrop |
Il a plu. | composé | an event |
And in one sentence, both together
This is the commonest narrative pattern there is:
imparfait = the scene · passé composé = the thing that broke it
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Je mangeais quand tu as téléphoné. | /ʒə mɑ̃.ʒɛ kɑ̃ ty a te.le.fo.ne/ | I was eating when you called |
Il faisait beau, alors nous sommes sortis. | /il fə.zɛ bo a.lɔʁ nu sɔm sɔʁ.ti/ | It was nice out, so we went out |
Elle dormait quand je suis arrivé. | /ɛl dɔʁ.mɛ kɑ̃ ʒə sɥi.z‿a.ʁi.ve/ | She was asleep when I arrived |
What was going on → imparfait. What cut across it → passé composé.
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Some verbs change meaning | see the table below | |
| Time adverbs are a good guide, not a rule | hier soudain une fois → composé toujours souvent chaque jour → imparfait | /jɛʁ/ · /su.dɛ̃/ · /yn fwa/ · /tu.ʒuʁ/ · /su.vɑ̃/ · /ʃak ʒuʁ/ |
avoir and être are usually imperfect | J'avais faim. C'était bien. — but not always | /ʒa.vɛ fɛ̃/ · /se.tɛ bjɛ̃/ |
| Describing people and weather is nearly always imperfect | Elle était grande. | /ɛl e.tɛ ɡʁɑ̃d/ |
Six verbs whose meaning changes with the tense
| Verb | Imparfait | Passé composé |
|---|---|---|
savoir /sa.vwaʁ/ | je savais /ʒə sa.vɛ/ I knew | j'ai su /ʒe sy/ I found out |
pouvoir /pu.vwaʁ/ | je pouvais /ʒə pu.vɛ/ I could | j'ai pu /ʒe py/ I managed to |
vouloir /vu.lwaʁ/ | je voulais /ʒə vu.lɛ/ I wanted | j'ai voulu /ʒe vu.ly/ I decided to |
devoir /də.vwaʁ/ | je devais /ʒə də.vɛ/ I was supposed to | j'ai dû /ʒe dy/ I had to |
connaître /kɔ.nɛtʁ/ | je connaissais /ʒə kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ I knew | j'ai connu /ʒe kɔ.ny/ I met |
avoir /a.vwaʁ/ | j'avais /ʒa.vɛ/ I had | j'ai eu /ʒe y/ I got |
Learn these six separately — getting them wrong changes the meaning, not just the grammar.
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday I went to the cinema | Hier, je suis allé au cinéma. | /jɛʁ ʒə sɥi.za.le o si.ne.ma/ |
| When I was a child, I lived in Canada | Quand j'étais enfant, j'habitais au Canada. | /kɑ̃ ʒe.tɛ.zɑ̃.fɑ̃ ʒa.bi.tɛ o ka.na.da/ |
| I was reading when he arrived | Je lisais quand il est arrivé. | /ʒə li.zɛ kɑ̃.ti.lɛ.ta.ʁi.ve/ |
| It was cold, so we stayed | Il faisait froid, alors nous sommes restés. | /il fə.zɛ fʁwa a.lɔʁ nu sɔm ʁɛs.te/ |
| I studied French every day | J'étudiais le français chaque jour. | /ʒe.ty.djɛ lə fʁɑ̃.sɛ ʃak ʒuʁ/ |
| I read it three times | Je l'ai lu trois fois. | /ʒə le ly tʁwa fwa/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Hier, je mangeais au restaurant. | Hier, j'ai mangé au restaurant. | hier means once, with edges |
Quand j'étais enfant, j'ai habité au Canada. | … j'habitais au Canada. | an open-ended habit |
Il a fait froid et je suis resté. | Il faisait froid, alors je suis resté. | weather is backdrop |
J'ai su la réponse hier. (meaning "I knew") | Je savais la réponse. | j'ai su means "I found out" |
Where English helps, and where it lets you down
English has the distinction — for two thirds of the cases
English marks this too, and where it does, it is reliable:
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| "I was eating" | je mangeais — imparfait, every time | /ʒə mɑ̃.ʒɛ/ |
| "I used to eat" | je mangeais — imparfait, every time | /ʒə mɑ̃.ʒɛ/ |
So two thirds of the work is done for you. The trouble is the third case.
1. The plain past tense is ambiguous in English and not in French.
| English | French | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "I ate at eight" | j'ai mangé | one event | /ʒe mɑ̃.ʒe/ |
| "I ate there every week" | je mangeais | a habit | /ʒə mɑ̃.ʒɛ/ |
Same English verb, two different French tenses. English leaves the difference to the adverb; French puts it in the verb, so you cannot copy the shape across.
2. "was" covers both.
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| "it was cold" | il faisait froid — imparfait | /il fə.zɛ fʁwa/ |
| "he was there yesterday" | il a été là hier — composé | /il a e.te la jɛʁ/ |
3. The six verbs above. "I knew" is je savais or j'ai su depending on whether you mean the state or the moment you learnt it — and English uses one word for both.
So use English as a first guess when it offers "was ‑ing" or "used to", and run the edges test whenever it only offers the plain past.