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.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jaimais danser quand jà ©tais jeune.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I liked to dance when I was young.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je croyais en Dieu.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believed in God.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jespà ©rais gagner.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I hoped (was hoping) to win.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jà ©tais heureux lannà ©e passà ©e.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was happy last year.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je pensais à   mon frà ¨re.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was thinking about my brother.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il semblait trop parfait.  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seemed too perfect.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je me sentais malade pendant toute la journà ©e.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I felt sick all day.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je voulais rentrer aprà ¨s le film.  Ã‚  Ã‚  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.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je nai pas aimà © le film.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I didnt like the movie.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je ne tai pas cru quand tu as dit...  Ã‚  Ã‚  I didnt believe you when you said...  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hier, jai espà ©rà © que tu viendrais ; aujourdhui, à §a mest à ©gal.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yesterday I hoped you would come; today I dont care.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quand je lai vu, jai à ©tà © surpris.  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I saw him, I was surprised (just at that moment).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai pensà © à   une bonne histoire.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I thought of a good story.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a semblà © disparaà ®tre.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He seemed to disappear (all of a sudden).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai senti une goutte de pluie.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I felt a drop of rain.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tout dun coup, jai voulu partir.  Ã‚  Ã‚  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  Ã‚  Ã‚  imperfect - had  Ã‚  Ã‚  Javais de  largent.  - I had some money  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  navais  pas  assez  de temps.  - I didnt have enough time  Ã‚  Ã‚  Javais  faim.  - I was hungry  Ã‚  Ã‚  passà © composà © - had, got, received  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai eu un accident.  - I had / got into an accident  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai eu une bonne surprise.  - I got a nice surprise  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai eu faim.  - I got hungryconnaà ®tre  - to know  Ã‚  Ã‚  imperfect - knew, was familiar with  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je la  connaissais  bien.  - I knew her well  Ã‚  Ã‚  passà © composà © - met  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai connu Michel hier.  - I met Michel (for the first time) yesterdaydevoir  - to have to  Ã‚  Ã‚  imperfect - was supposed to (whether I did or not)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je devais partir à   midi.  - I was supposed to leave at noon  Ã‚  Ã‚  passà © composà © - must have, had to  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai dà » le perdre.  - I must have lost it  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai dà » partir à   midi.  - I had to leave at noon (and did)pouvoir  - to be able to  Ã‚  Ã‚  imperfect - could, was able to (whether I did or not)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  pouvais  mentir.  - I could  lie /  was  capable of lying  Ã‚  Ã‚  passà © composà © - could, was able to, managed to; (negative)  couldnt,  was unable to  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai  pu  mentir.  - I was able to lie  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  nai  pas  pu  mentir.  - I couldnt / was unable to liesavoir  - to know  Ã‚  Ã‚  imperfect - knew  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  savais  ladresse.  - I knew the address  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  savais  nager.  - I knew how to swim  Ã‚  Ã‚  passà © composà © - learned, found out  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai  su  la solution.  - I found out / discovered the solution  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai  su  nager.  - I learned how to swimvouloir  - to want  Ã‚  Ã‚  imperfect - wanted  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  voulais  partir.  - I wanted to leave  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  voulais  plus  dargent.  - I wanted more money  Ã‚  Ã‚  passà © composà © - tried, decided to; (negative) refused  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai  voulu  partir.  - I  tried / decided  to leave  Ã‚  Ã‚  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)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jallais à ©tudier.  - I was going to study.avoir  (with age)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Javais 18  ans.  - I was 18.à ªtre  en train de  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jà ©tais en train dà ©crire une lettre.  - I was writing a letter.faire  (with weather)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il  faisait  beau.  - It was nice out.venir  de   infinitive (recent past)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je  venais  darriver.  - I had just arrived.

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