Passé Composé vs Imparfait: The Simple Rule (With Examples)

"Caroline, should I use the passé composé or the imparfait?" It's the question I hear the most from my students in Paris. Both talk about the past, so how do you choose?

Here is the simple rule I give them.

The simple rule

• Imparfait = the scene. It describes the background: the weather, the place, how people felt, what was going on, habits.

• Passé composé = the action. It tells what happened: a specific event that started and finished.

Think of a film. The imparfait is the camera showing the decor. The passé composé is the moment something happens.

"Il pleuvait et j'étais fatiguée. Soudain, mon téléphone a sonné."

(It was raining and I was tired. Suddenly, my phone rang.)

When to use the imparfait

• Descriptions: "La maison était grande." (The house was big.)

• Feelings and states: "J'avais peur." (I was scared.)

• Habits in the past: "Le dimanche, nous allions au marché." (On Sundays, we used to go to the market.)

• An action in progress: "Je regardais la télé…" (I was watching TV…)

How to form it: take the "nous" form of the present, remove -ons, and add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Nous parlons → je parlais. Only exception: être → j'étais.

When to use the passé composé

• A finished action: "J'ai mangé une crêpe." (I ate a crêpe.)

• A sudden event: "…quand quelqu'un a frappé à la porte." (…when someone knocked on the door.)

• A series of actions: "Je me suis levée, j'ai pris une douche et je suis partie." (I got up, took a shower and left.)

• An action with a precise duration: "J'ai habité à Lyon pendant cinq ans." (I lived in Lyon for five years.)

How to form it: avoir or être + past participle. Most verbs take avoir. Verbs of movement and reflexive verbs take être: "je suis allée", "elle s'est levée".

Key words that help

• Often with the imparfait: d'habitude, tous les jours, le lundi, souvent, quand j'étais petit(e), pendant que.

• Often with the passé composé: hier, soudain, tout à coup, un jour, une fois, ce matin.

Mini quiz

Choose passé composé or imparfait:

1. Quand j'(être) petite, j'(adorer) les dessins animés.

2. Hier, je (rencontrer) ma voisine au marché.

3. Il (faire) beau, alors nous (décider) d'aller au parc.

Answers: 1. étais, adorais. 2. ai rencontré. 3. faisait, avons décidé.

Practise all the past tenses, step by step

The passé composé and the imparfait are weeks 2 and 3 of my programme French Tenses in 3 Months. It covers all 14 French tenses with clear explanations in English and 112 exercises in French with answers, at your own pace, on your phone or computer.

Still mixing up your past tenses? Practise them in conversation with a private French tutor in Paris or online.

👉 Discover French Tenses in 3 Months

Bon courage !

Caroline