Transcript Verbs in the past

Le passé
Imparfait et Passé Composé
Three forms
Imparfait
Passé Composé
Passé Simple (written tense only)
In this presentation, we will only see the first
two: Imparfait & Passé Composé.
What is the difference?
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Use the Imparfait when:
Use the passé composé when:
You want to express:
What you used to do.
What used to be.
What you were doing.
What was going on.
The description of the scene:
(time, weather…)
The description of the people
involved: (looks, feelings,
age…)
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You want to express:
What you did.
What happened.
Action.
An event that began and
ended at a particular point in
time in the past.
 The action was finite: it began
and ended at a point in time
in the past.
What does the imparfait look like?
• These are the imparfait endings:
• ais
• ais
• ait
• ions
• iez
• aient
This is the verb Regarder (to watch) in
the imparfait.
• Je regardais (I used to watch) • Nous regardions
• Tu regardais
• Vous regardiez
• Il, elle, on regardait • Ils, elles regardaient
(You were watching…)
The best way to form the imparfait.
• Begin with the NOUS form of the present tense.
• Manger in the present tense: Nous mangeons
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Je mangeais
Tu mangeais
Il, elle, on mangeait
Nous mangions
Vous mangiez
Ils, elles mangeaient
Je mangeais au restaurant.
• When French people hear this, they understand:
• You used to eat at the restaurant.
or
• You were eating at the restaurant…
Forming the Imparfait:
Two Important exceptions
• Être : to be
• Aller: to go
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J’étais
Tu étais
Il, elle, on était
Nous étions
Vous étiez
Ils, elles étaient
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Ils étaient jeunes. (They were young)
• Nous allions au bord de la mer
pendant les vacances. (We used to
Description.
J’allais
Tu allais
Il, elle, on allait
Nous allions
Vous alliez
Ils, elles allaient
go to the seashore during our
vacations)
What does the passé composé look
like?
• The passé composé will have
2 words, just like it’s name.
• The first is the helper verb or auxiliary verb.
• The second is the past participle.
This is the verb regarder in the passé composé!
• J’ai regardé (I watched)
• Tu as regardé
• Il, elle, on a regardé
• Nous avons regardé
• Vous avez regardé
• Ils, elles ont regardé
J’ai regardé un bon film.
• When French people read this:
• They understand you saw a good movie.
• They also understand this was a finite event
at a particular point in time in the past.
J’ai regardé
• J’ai is the helper verb.
• Regardé is the past participle.
• The passé composé is composed of 2 words!
Only two helper verbs
Avoir
• J’ai
• Tu as
• Il, elle, on a
• Nous avons
• Vous avez
• Ils, elles ont
Être
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Je suis
Tu es
Il, elle, on est
Nous sommes
Vous êtes
Ils, elles sont
When do you use the helper verb
AVOIR?
• With the passé composé
•MOST OF THE TIME.
When do you use the helper verb
être?
In the passé composé
When the verb is on the list.
When the verb is reflexive.
Passé composé
Avoir
or
(Most of the time)
Être
+
Past participle
When the verb is on
the list or reflexive
What list?
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DR and MRS P VANDERTRAMP, is an acronym-mnemonic. Each capital letter
stands for a verb which pairs with the verb être (to be) when conjugating into
the passé composé tense.
Descendre (past participle) descendu)
Rester (past participle resté)
Monter (past participle monté)
Revenir (past participle revenu)
Sortir (past participle sorti)
Passer (past participle passé)
Venir (past participle venu)
Arriver (past participle arrivé)
Naître (past participle né)
Devenir (past participle devenu)
Entrer (past participle entré)
Retourner (past participle retourné)
Tomber (past participle tombé)
Rentrer (past participle rentré)
Aller (past participle allé)
Mourir (past participle mort)
Partir (past participle parti)
What is a reflexive verb?
• A reflexive verb infinitive is identified by its
reflexive pronoun se, which is placed before
the infinitive. (se regarder)
• A reflexive verb shows that the subject is
performing the action upon itself and,
therefore, the subject and the reflexive
pronoun refer to the same person or thing.
• Je me regarde = I’m looking at myself.
Compare the reflexive verb in the
present & in the passé composé.
In the passé composé
In the present
Verb ÊTRE + past participle.
• The verb: se regarder
• The verb: se regarder
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Je me regarde (I look at myself)
Tu te regardes
Il, elle, on se regarde
Nous nous regardons
Vous vous regarge
Ils, elles se regardent
Je me suis regardé (I looked at myself)
Tu t’es regardé
Il, elle, on s’est regardé
Nous nous sommes regardés
Vous vous étes regardés
Ils se sont regardés
Okay so…
• The passé composé is composed of 2 words:
• The helper (auxiliary) verb & the past participle.
• There are two helper verbs: Avoir and Être.
• Use avoir most of the time.
• Use être when the verb is:
 on the list (aller for example) Je suis allé au parc. I went to the park.
 or reflexive (se regarder for example) Je me suis regardé dans le lac. I looked at myself in the lake.
• But what about the past participle?
Past participles
• Past participles are generally related to verb infinitives.
• Infinitives ending in er, for example, generally drop this
ending and substitute é
: J’ai chanté
(I sang)
Je suis tombé
(I fell)
• Infinitives ending in ir generally drop this ending and
substitute i
: J’ai fini
(I finished)
Je suis sorti ( I went out)
• Infinitives ending in re generally drop this ending and
substitute u
: J’ai rendu
(I returned)
Je suis descendu
(I went down)
A number of common verbs have irregular past participles:
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avoir to have : eu
boire to drink : bu
connaître to know : connu
courir to run : couru
devoir must : dû (due)
être to be : été
faire to do, make : fait
falloir must, have to : fallu
lire to read : lu
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mettre to put : mis
ouvrir to open : ouvert
pouvoir can, may : pu
prendre to take : pris
recevoir to receive : reçu
rire to laugh : ri
savoir to know : su
vivre to live : vécu
vouloir to want : voulu
Two helper verbs:
Avoir or Être
Passé composé:
More active
+
A past participle
The past in French
Imparfait:
More descriptive
Start with the NOUS
form of the verb in
the present tense +
ais, ais, ait, ions, iez,
aient
A) Il a chanté une belle chanson.
B) Elle chantait très bien.
In A): When I see the passé composé, I understand:
He sang a nice song at a particular moment in the past.
In B): When I see the imparfait, I understand:
She used to sing very well or she was singing very well.
Un jour…
• Un jour je suis allé au parc et j’ai vu un joli petit lapin.
J’ai attrapé le petit lapin et je l’ai apporté chez moi. Je
l’ai donné à ma maman.
• Only the passé composé is used here because I’m all
action. Also, the action is finite (It began and ended at that point in
time).
• One day, I went to the parc and I saw a cute little rabbit. I caught
the little rabbit and I brought it home. I gave it to my mom.
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If I had described the rabbit or my mother’s reaction, I would have use the imparfait:
Il était blanc et elle était furieuse. (It was white and she was furious)
Note:
None of the verbs are used to describe the rabbit although I do know it was little and cute.
• Il faisait beau et la ville était très
calme. Les oiseaux chantaient et
Pierre était heureux.
• Only the imparfait is used because I am
entirely descriptive.
• The weather was nice and the town was very clam. The birds were
singing, and Peter was happy.
Tout à coup… (all of a sudden…)
• Tout à coup, Pierre est tombé et il s’est cassé
la jambe. Il est allé à l’hôpital. Il n’était plus
très content.
• Pierre est tombé: Pierre fell at a certain moment in
the past. (action)
• Il s’est cassé la jambe: He broke his leg at that
certain moment in time. (action)
• Il est allé à l’hôpital: He went to the hospital.
(action)
• Il n’était plus très content:
He wasn’t very
happy anymore. (Describing his feelings)
Imparfait
Imparfait or passé composé?
• It was 4:30 in the afternoon. The weather
was nice. A man was walking towards me. He
was big and scary looking. I was afraid.
• Describing the scene, the man and the way I
felt.
Imparfait of course!
• Il était quatre heures et demie
de l’après-midi. Il faisait beau.
Un homme marchait vers moi. Il
était grand et épeurant. J’avais
peur.
Imparfait or passé composé?
• Romeo went below Juliet’s window to sing
her a love song. Her father saw him and he
emptied a bucket of water on his head.
Romeo went home.
• All action here. At a finite point in time,
Romeo went… her father saw and emptied…
and Romeo went home. (the action started and ended
at that particular time in the past : finite)
Passé composé of course!
• Roméo est allé sous la fenêtre
de Juliette pour lui chanter
une chanson d’amour. Son
père l’a vu et il lui a vidé un
seau d’eau sur la tête. Roméo
est rentré chez lui.