Saturday, January 4, 2020
Advanced French Past Tenses and Imperfect
The difference between the two main French past tenses, the passà © composà © and the imperfect, is a constant struggle for many French students. In my lesson on passà © composà © vs imperfect, you learned about the fundamental differences between these two tenses. In this more advanced lesson, you will learn about the particularities of certain verbs when used in the past. Usually Imperfect Some French verbs are nearly always used in the imperfect rather than the passà © composà ©: aimer - to like, lovecroire - to believeespà ©rer - to hopeà ªtre - to bepenser - to thinksembler - to seemsentir - to feelvouloir - to want These verbs describe a state of mind or state of being. They are most often in the imperfect because verbs like wanting and being do not usually have a clear indicator of start and finish - either they last for an unspecified amount of time or they are interrupted by some other action.   Jaimais danser quand jà ©tais jeune.   I liked to dance when I was young.   Je croyais en Dieu.   I believed in God.   Jespà ©rais gagner.   I hoped (was hoping) to win.   Jà ©tais heureux lannà ©e passà ©e.   I was happy last year.   Je pensais à mon frà ¨re.   I was thinking about my brother.   Il semblait trop parfait.   It seemed too perfect.   Je me sentais malade pendant toute la journà ©e.   I felt sick all day.   Je voulais rentrer aprà ¨s le film.   I wanted to go home after the movie.However, these verbs are used in the passà © composà © when there is a clear indication of the beginning or end of the action of the verb, or when it is obvious that this was a simple action that only occurred once.   Je nai pas aimà © le film.   I didnt like the movie.   Je ne tai pas cru quand tu as dit...   I didnt believe you when you said...   Hier, jai espà ©rà © que tu viendrais ; aujourdhui, à §a mest à ©gal.   Yesterday I hoped you would come; today I dont care.   Quand je lai vu, jai à ©tà © surpris.   When I saw him, I was surprised (just at that moment).   Jai pensà © à une bonne histoire.   I thought of a good story.   Il a semblà © disparaà ®tre.   He seemed to disappear (all of a sudden).   Jai senti une goutte de pluie.   I felt a drop of rain.   Tout dun coup, jai voulu partir.   All of a sudden, I wanted to leave.Now that you know which verbs are usually in the i mperfect, you can learn about verbs that have different meanings depending on whether they are used in the passà © composà ©Ã‚ or imperfect, and verbal constructions that are always in the imperfect. Meaning Changes There are a few verbs that have different meanings depending on whether they are used in the passà © composà © or imperfect. Note however that these verbs are usually used in the imperfect; the passà © composà © meaning is fairly uncommon.avoir - to have   imperfect - had   Javais de largent. - I had some money   Je navais pas assez de temps. - I didnt have enough time   Javais faim. - I was hungry   passà © composà © - had, got, received   Jai eu un accident. - I had / got into an accident   Jai eu une bonne surprise. - I got a nice surprise   Jai eu faim. - I got hungryconnaà ®tre - to know   imperfect - knew, was familiar with   Je la connaissais bien. - I knew her well   passà © composà © - met   Jai connu Michel hier. - I met Michel (for the first time) yesterdaydevoir - to have to   imperfect - was supposed to (whether I did or not)   Je devais partir à midi. - I was supposed to leave at noon   passà © composà © - must have, had to   Jai dà » le perdre. - I must have lost it   Jai dà » partir à midi. - I had to leave at noon (and did)pouvoir - to be able to   imperfect - could, was able to (whether I did or not)   Je pouvais mentir. - I could lie / was capable of lying   passà © composà © - could, was able to, managed to; (negative) couldnt, was unable to   Jai pu mentir. - I was able to lie   Je nai pas pu mentir. - I couldnt / was unable to liesavoir - to know   imperfect - knew   Je savais ladresse. - I knew the address   Je savais nager. - I knew how to swim   passà © composà © - learned, found out   Jai su la solution. - I found out / discovered the solution   Jai su nager. - I learned how to swimvouloir - to want   imperfect - wanted   Je voulais partir. - I wanted to leave   Je voulais plus dargent. - I wanted more money   passà © composà © - tried, decided to; (negative) refused   Jai voulu partir. - I tried / decided to leave   Je nai pas voulu partir. - I refused to leave Verbal Constructions Some verbs have particular constructions which, when referring to the past, are always in the imperfect:aller infinitive (near future)   Jallais à ©tudier. - I was going to study.avoir (with age)   Javais 18 ans. - I was 18.à ªtre en train de   Jà ©tais en train dà ©crire une lettre. - I was writing a letter.faire (with weather)   Il faisait beau. - It was nice out.venir de infinitive (recent past)   Je venais darriver. - I had just arrived.
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