Imparfait vs Passé Composé

The imparfait and the passé composé are the two main past tenses in French. Since both describe events in the past, learners often find it difficult to know which one to use.

A simple way to remember the difference is:

• Passé composé tells what happened. It focuses on completed actions or events.
• Imparfait describes what was happening. It provides background information, habits, ongoing actions, and descriptions.

In many sentences, both tenses are used together. The imparfait sets the scene, while the passé composé describes the action that takes place within that scene.

When to Use the Passé Composé

Use the passé composé for actions that are completed and viewed as finished.

1. A Single Completed Action

Example:

• J’ai acheté une nouvelle voiture.
  I bought a new car.

2. A Specific Event

Example:

• Elle est arrivée à huit heures.
  She arrived at eight o’clock.

3. A Sequence of Actions

Example:

• Il est rentré, il a mangé et il s’est couché.
  He came home, ate, and went to bed.

4. An Action That Interrupts Another

Example:

• Je lisais quand le téléphone a sonné.
  I was reading when the phone rang.

The interruption (a sonné) uses the passé composé.

When to Use the Imparfait

Use the imparfait for descriptions, repeated actions, habits, and actions that were in progress.

1. Past Habits

Example:

• Quand j’étais petit, je jouais dehors tous les jours.
  When I was young, I used to play outside every day.

2. Background Description

Example:

• Il faisait froid et le vent soufflait.
  It was cold and the wind was blowing.

3. Ongoing Action

Example:

• Nous regardions un film.
  We were watching a movie.

4. Feelings and States

Example:

• Elle était fatiguée.
  She was tired.

Using Both Tenses Together

Very often, both tenses appear in the same sentence.

The imparfait describes the situation or the action already in progress, while the passé composé introduces the completed action.

Example 1

• Je dormais quand mon téléphone a sonné.
  I was sleeping when my phone rang.
• dormais → ongoing action (imparfait)
• a sonné → completed action (passé composé)

Example 2

• Ils jouaient au football lorsqu’il a commencé à pleuvoir.
  They were playing football when it started to rain.

Example 3

• Pendant que nous étudiions, le professeur est entré.
  While we were studying, the teacher came in.

Signal Words

Certain expressions often indicate which tense to use.

Imparfait

Signal Word	Meaning
toujours	always
souvent	often
d’habitude	usually
chaque jour	every day
autrefois	formerly
quand j’étais petit(e)	when I was young
pendant que	while

Example:

• Nous visitions souvent nos grands-parents.
  We often visited our grandparents.

Passé Composé

Signal Word	Meaning
hier	yesterday
soudain	suddenly
tout à coup	all of a sudden
ensuite	then
puis	afterwards
un jour	one day
l’année dernière	last year

Example:

• Hier, j’ai rencontré mon ancien professeur.
  Yesterday, I met my former teacher.

Imparfait or Passé Composé?

Situation	Tense	Example
Habit in the past	Imparfait	Je lisais chaque soir.
Description	Imparfait	Le ciel était bleu.
Feeling or emotion	Imparfait	Elle avait peur.
Completed action	Passé composé	J’ai terminé mes devoirs.
Specific event	Passé composé	Il est arrivé à midi.
Series of completed actions	Passé composé	Elle est entrée, a souri et est repartie.
Action in progress interrupted by another action	Imparfait + Passé composé	Je travaillais quand il est arrivé.

Story Example

Read the following short paragraph and notice how both tenses work together.

Hier soir, il pleuvait et le vent soufflait très fort. Je regardais la télévision quand quelqu’un a frappé à la porte. J’ai ouvert la porte et j’ai vu mon voisin. Il avait oublié ses clés et il cherchait de l’aide.

Translation:

Last night, it was raining and the wind was blowing strongly. I was watching television when someone knocked on the door. I opened the door and saw my neighbour. He had forgotten his keys and was looking for help.

Notice that:

• Descriptions and ongoing actions use the imparfait.
• Completed actions use the passé composé.

Quick Memory Tip

Think of the two tenses like a movie:

• Imparfait = the background scenery, weather, people, habits, and actions already in progress.
• Passé composé = the important events that move the story forward.

Summary

Use the imparfait to describe past habits, ongoing actions, feelings, and background information. Use the passé composé to describe completed actions, specific events, and actions that happened one after another. When telling a story, the imparfait creates the setting, while the passé composé highlights the main events that occurred.