French Past Tense Clues
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Some French words and phrases are virtually always used with the imparfait, while others seem to stick like glue to the passé composé. These lists can help you determine which tense you need in any given sentence.
Imparfait |
Passé composé |
|
| chaque semaine chaque mois, chaque année |
une semaine un mois, un an |
|
| every week every month, every year |
one week one month, one year |
|
| le week-end | un week-end | |
| on the weekends | one weekend | |
| le lundi, le mardi… | lundi, mardi… | |
| on Mondays, on Tuesdays… | on Monday, on Tuesday… | |
| tous les jours | un jour | |
| every day | one day | |
| le matin, le soir | un matin, un soir | |
| in the mornings, in the evenings | one morning, one evening | |
| toujours | toujours | |
| always (in the past) | always (and still now) | |
| normalement, d’habitude | plusieurs fois | |
| usually | several times | |
| en général, généralement | une fois, deux fois… | |
| in general, generally | once, twice… | |
| souvent | soudain, soudainement | |
| often | suddenly | |
| parfois, quelquefois | tout à coup | |
| sometimes | all of a sudden | |
| de temps en temps | tout d’un coup | |
| from time to time | in one fell swoop | |
| rarement | d’abord | |
| rarely | first | |
| ensuite, puis | ||
| next, then | ||
| enfin | ||
| finally | ||
| autrefois | finalement | |
| formerly | in the end | |
Imparfait |
Passé composé |
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Remember that in French literature and other formal writing, the passé simple takes the place of the passé composé.
More imparfait vs passé composé
- Introduction
- Verbs usually in the imperfect
- Verbs with different meanings depending on tense
- Passé composé and imparfait clues
Video: Passé composé vs imparfait
Passé composé vs imparfait quizzes
Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the difference between passé composé and imparfait with these fill-in-the-blanks exercises:
- Conte de fées
- Dimanche à Chartres
- Mamie Gâteau
- Mon jour férié
- Pendant le confinement
- Une ville magique
Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!
Related lessons
- Imparfait lesson
- Passé composé lesson
- Passé récent lesson
- Passé simple lesson
- Auxiliary verbs: avoir vs être
- Adverbs of frequency
- Adverbs of time
- An vs année
- Calendar words
French lesson plan
- Narrating in the Past Tense (Lesson, 10th-11th grade)
En español
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