Past tenses
Spoken French runs on two past tenses that split one job English gives to "was/did": passé composé for what happened (events), imparfait for how things were (background). Choosing between them is the skill.
Passé composé: avoir/être + past participle
J'ai mangé. · Tu as fini. · Elle est partie.
| infinitive family | participle | example |
|---|---|---|
| -er → -é | parlé | j'ai parlé |
| -ir → -i | fini | j'ai fini |
| -re → -u | vendu | j'ai vendu |
Key irregular participles: été (être), eu /y/ (avoir), fait, pris, mis, dit, vu, pu, voulu, venu, bu, lu, ouvert, écrit, mort, né.
Which auxiliary?
Most verbs take avoir. A closed set of motion/change verbs takes être — the classic mnemonic house (DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP):
aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, retourner, passer, devenir, revenir
Plus all reflexive verbs: Je me suis levé(e).
Participle agreement
| case | agrees with | example |
|---|---|---|
| être verbs | the subject | Elle est partie. Ils sont arrivés. |
| avoir verbs | nothing… | Elle a mangé. |
| …unless a direct object precedes | that object | la lettre que j'ai écrite · Je les ai vus. |
Mostly silent in speech — but audible with participles ending in a consonant: mis / mise /mi/ vs /miz/, écrit / écrite.
Imparfait: the background tense
Stem = nous-form minus -ons (nous parlons → parl-), then:
| je -ais | tu -ais | il -ait | nous -ions | vous -iez | ils -aient |
|---|
Four forms sound identical: /paʁlɛ/. Only irregular stem: être → ét- (j'étais).
The big choice: event or backdrop?
| imparfait (scene) | passé composé (event) |
|---|---|
| Il pleuvait… (it was raining) | …et soudain il est tombé. (he fell) |
| Quand j'étais petit… (habitual) | Un jour, j'ai vu un loup. (once) |
| Je regardais la télé… (in progress) | …quand tu as appelé. (interruption) |
Tests that work:
- "was …-ing" or "used to …" → imparfait.
- Advances the story, answers "what happened next?" → passé composé.
- Descriptions, feelings, time, weather, age in the past → imparfait: Il était midi, j'avais faim.
Some verbs translate differently by tense: je savais = I knew / j'ai su = I found out; je voulais = I wanted / j'ai voulu = I decided to.
The passé simple: recognize, don't produce
In novels and history you'll meet il fut (= il a été), elle alla, ils firent. It is the literary replacement for passé composé — read it, never speak it.
Contrast with English
- English "I ate" can be either tense; ask event or backdrop? before translating.
- English present perfect "I have eaten" and simple past "I ate" are BOTH passé composé — French doesn't make that distinction.
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