Can you use passe compose and imparfait together?

It is used for past actions/events that happened once, with a clear beginning and end, as well as for a succession of actions in the past. Now look at these sentences where both Passé composé and Imparfait are used: Je prenais une douche quand le téléphone a sonné. I was taking a shower when the phone rang.

How do you use imparfait and passe compose?

In a nutshell, the imparfait is used for incomplete actions while the passé composé is reserved for completed ones, but of course it’s more complicated than that.

Do you use etre with imparfait?

Être is the only verb with an irregular stem in the imparfait (meaning that you don’t use the present tense nous sommes to form it). Aller (to go): The present tense of aller is irregular, but in this case we still use the nous form as the starting point for the imparfait.

How do you conjugate passe imparfait?

How to Conjugate Verbs in the Imparfait:

  1. The stem consists of the first-person plural (nous) form of the present tense without the o n s ending.
  2. Add the following endings to the stem: a i s, a i s, a i t, i o n s, i e z, a i e n t. All of the singular and the third-person plural endings are pronounced the same way.

How can you tell the difference between passe compose and Imparfait?

The PC will describe a specific action that took place at a precise time. Ils sont entrés – they came in. When used in the same sentence, Imparfait will be used for the background action, the longer action that’s going on, and Passé-composé for the specific shorter action.

Is pendant passe compose or Imparfait?

If pendant is used to describe past durations with a clear beginning and end, and the imperfect is used to describe continuing actions or habits in the past, why is the example “J’étais là pendant quarante-cinq minutes” instead of “J’ai été là pendant quarante-cinq minutes” since the passé composé is used to describe …

Should I use Imparfait or passé composé?

When to Use the Passé Composé While the imparfait is used for specific situations, the passé composé, as mentioned earlier, simply describes a completed action. It’s essentially used to form the past tense whenever the imparfait isn’t employed. A few simple examples include: J’ai pris un examen à l’école aujourd’hui.

What is the meaning of Imparfait?

The imperfect ( l’imparfait) expresses or describes continued, repeated, habitual actions or incomplete actions, situations, or events in the past. The imperfect describes what was going on at an indefinite time in the past or what used to happen.