| 7.2.3 Imparfait, passé simple and passé composé |
Let's have a look at a comparison of the three past tenses, we have discussed so far:
| Overview |
| Imparfait |
English |
descriptions
|
simple past |
| La lune brillait. |
actions interrupted by others
|
simple past |
| Il dormait quand el téléphone a sonné. |
| parallel actions |
past continuous |
| J' etais à la piscine et jouais au ballon. |
| regularly repeating actions |
simple past |
| Elle pensait parfois à la fille. |
| |
| Passé composé |
English |
| actions finished at the time of narration |
simple past |
| Il a fait du sport pendant dix ans. |
actions, which have influence on the
time of narration |
present perfect |
J' ai perdu mon collier.
|
| actions interrupting others |
simple past |
| Il dormait quand el téléphone a sonné. |
| |
|
| Passé simple* |
English |
| short actions (at one point) |
simple past |
| Je vis Luc. |
finished actions in a closed past
|
simple past |
Il fut mon professeur en 1992.
|
| actions following one another |
simple past |
| Napoléon combattit et perdit la bataille de Waterloo. |
* The passé simple is not used in spoken language, it is substituted by the passé composé
