This is the decision that organizes every French past-tense narrative. Passé composé or imparfait? Once you internalize when to use each, you can tell a story in French. Until you do, every past-tense sentence is a small puzzle. The good news is that the underlying logic is consistent and learnable; the harder news is that English does not draw the same line, so you have to retrain your intuition.
This page lays out the core distinction, the decision rules that flow from it, the time markers that tip you off in either direction, and the contrastive pairs that show what changes when you switch tenses. It is the page to consult any time you are unsure which past tense you need.
The core distinction
Two past tenses, two different ways of viewing past actions:
Passé composé = the action viewed as a complete unit, with a beginning and an end. What happened.
Imparfait = the action viewed from the inside, as an ongoing process or state. What was happening / what used to happen / how things were.
This is aspectual, not temporal. Both tenses express the past; they differ in how they present the action — as a discrete event (perfective) or as ongoing (imperfective). English uses different strategies (simple past, present perfect, past progressive, used to, would) for the same conceptual distinctions, but it does not consistently mark perfective vs. imperfective with verb morphology the way French does.
Three foundational examples to anchor the distinction:
Il a mangé une pomme.
He ate an apple. (passé composé — single completed event, the apple is gone)
Il mangeait une pomme quand je suis arrivé.
He was eating an apple when I arrived. (imparfait — ongoing action interrupted by a passé composé event)
Tous les matins, il mangeait une pomme.
Every morning, he would eat an apple. (imparfait — habitual past)
Same lexical verb (manger), three different tense choices encoding three different aspects: the punctual eating, the ongoing eating, and the habitual eating.
When to use the passé composé
The passé composé is the foreground tense. It tells you what happened next in a sequence of events. Use it for:
Single completed events with a clear endpoint
J'ai vu Pierre hier au café.
I saw Pierre yesterday at the café.
Elle est arrivée à huit heures pile.
She arrived at eight on the dot.
On a déménagé en mai dernier.
We moved last May.
Il a écrit son premier roman à vingt-cinq ans.
He wrote his first novel at twenty-five.
Each of these describes an event that has a clear shape: it happened, it ended, and you can attach a specific time to it.
A sequence of events, each one driving the narrative forward
Je me suis levé, j'ai pris une douche, j'ai bu un café et je suis parti au travail.
I got up, took a shower, drank a coffee, and left for work.
Elle est entrée dans la pièce, elle a regardé autour d'elle, puis elle est ressortie sans rien dire.
She entered the room, looked around, then left without saying anything.
When you can rephrase each verb with English next... and then... and then..., you are in passé-composé territory.
Events with a stated duration that has a clear endpoint
J'ai habité à Paris pendant trois ans.
I lived in Paris for three years. (over and done — the three years are bounded)
Le concert a duré deux heures.
The concert lasted two hours.
Il a parlé pendant une heure sans s'arrêter.
He talked for an hour without stopping.
This is one of the trickiest cases for English speakers. Even though the event was ongoing during the time mentioned, the passé composé is correct because the duration is bounded — it has a specific length and is now finished. Pendant + duration signals the passé composé.
Reactions to events; sudden states
Quand j'ai vu le résultat, j'ai eu peur.
When I saw the result, I got scared. (sudden onset of fear — passé composé, even for a state)
Elle a tout de suite compris la situation.
She immediately understood the situation. (the moment of understanding — punctual)
Il a su la nouvelle ce matin.
He found out the news this morning. (the moment of finding out — different from il savait, which would mean 'he knew')
Many state verbs flip meaning between imparfait and passé composé: savoir in imparfait = "knew (already)"; in passé composé = "found out." See more on this below.
When to use the imparfait
The imparfait is the background tense. It paints the canvas, describes the conditions, sets the stage. Use it for:
Description — states, scenes, weather, appearances
Il faisait beau ce matin-là, le soleil brillait, les oiseaux chantaient.
The weather was nice that morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing.
La maison était grande, avec un jardin plein de roses.
The house was big, with a garden full of roses.
Marie avait les cheveux longs à l'époque, et elle portait toujours des robes bleues.
Marie had long hair back then, and she always wore blue dresses.
If you would say "It was X" or "X was Y" — describing how things were — use the imparfait.
Ongoing actions interrupted by a passé composé event
Je travaillais quand le téléphone a sonné.
I was working when the phone rang.
Elle traversait la rue quand elle a vu son ancien professeur.
She was crossing the street when she saw her old teacher.
On dormait depuis deux heures quand l'orage a éclaté.
We had been sleeping for two hours when the storm broke.
The pattern is rigid: imparfait + quand + passé composé. The imparfait is the background that was going on; the passé composé interrupts it.
Habitual or repeated past actions without a specific count
Tous les étés, on allait à la mer chez ma grand-mère.
Every summer, we used to go to the sea at my grandmother's place.
Quand j'étais étudiant, je travaillais le week-end dans un café.
When I was a student, I worked weekends in a café.
Mon père prenait toujours le train de sept heures.
My father always took the seven o'clock train.
If you would say "used to" or "would (habitually)" in English, use the imparfait.
Two simultaneous ongoing actions
Pendant qu'il préparait le dîner, je regardais les nouvelles.
While he was making dinner, I was watching the news.
Elle écoutait la radio et lisait le journal en même temps.
She was listening to the radio and reading the newspaper at the same time.
When two actions overlap in the past, both go in the imparfait.
Mental and emotional states (often)
Je voulais te dire quelque chose mais j'ai oublié.
I wanted to tell you something but I forgot. (wanting was a state; forgetting was an event)
On savait qu'il allait pleuvoir.
We knew it was going to rain.
Il pensait que c'était une bonne idée.
He thought it was a good idea.
State verbs (être, avoir, savoir, vouloir, pouvoir, aimer, croire, penser) tend to take the imparfait when describing an ongoing mental or emotional state. When the same verb describes the moment of a state changing — finding out, deciding, becoming able — it switches to passé composé.
Decision rules
To decide which tense to use, ask these questions in order:
- Is this a description, a state, or how things were? → imparfait.
- Is this an ongoing action that was happening (in English: "was V-ing")? → imparfait.
- Is this a habit, something that used to happen repeatedly? → imparfait.
- Is this a single event with a clear beginning and end? → passé composé.
- Is this one event in a sequence of events ("then... then... then...")? → passé composé.
- Is this an action with a stated bounded duration (pendant + duration)? → passé composé.
- Is this the moment of a state change (finding out, becoming, deciding)? → passé composé.
If you have applied these and you are still unsure, the next section gives you time-marker shortcuts that resolve most remaining ambiguity.
Time markers as tense signals
Certain adverbs and adverbial phrases lean strongly toward one tense or the other. They are not iron rules — context can override them — but they are reliable defaults.
Strongly suggesting passé composé
- soudain, tout à coup — "suddenly"
- un jour — "one day" (specific moment)
- puis, ensuite, après — "then, next, after"
- hier, avant-hier, ce matin, l'année dernière — "yesterday, the day before yesterday, this morning, last year" (specific time)
- en + year — "in [year]"
- pendant + duration — "for [length of time]"
Soudain, le téléphone a sonné et je suis tombé de ma chaise.
Suddenly, the phone rang and I fell out of my chair.
Un jour, j'ai décidé de tout quitter.
One day, I decided to drop everything.
En 2020, on a déménagé à Marseille.
In 2020, we moved to Marseille.
J'ai vécu trois ans à Berlin.
I lived three years in Berlin.
Strongly suggesting imparfait
- tous les jours, tous les ans, chaque été — "every day, every year, each summer" (habitual)
- souvent, parfois, toujours, d'habitude — "often, sometimes, always, usually"
- autrefois, à l'époque, en ce temps-là — "in the past, back then, at that time"
- pendant que — "while" (always with imparfait when describing simultaneous past states)
Tous les samedis, on allait au marché ensemble.
Every Saturday, we would go to the market together.
À l'époque, on n'avait pas internet à la maison.
Back then, we didn't have internet at home.
Pendant qu'elle dormait, je préparais le petit-déjeuner.
While she was sleeping, I was making breakfast.
Compatible with both, depending on meaning
- quand — "when": with passé composé for the punctual event ("when X happened"); with imparfait for the background ("when I was a child")
- pendant que — see above; almost always imparfait, but rarely passé composé in compound contexts
- parce que — "because": tense matches the kind of cause being described
Quand j'étais petit, on habitait à la campagne.
When I was little, we lived in the countryside. (background — imparfait)
Quand il est arrivé, on a tout de suite commencé à manger.
When he arrived, we started eating right away. (punctual events — passé composé)
Contrastive pairs
The cleanest way to internalize the distinction is through pairs that change meaning when you switch tense. Same verb, same words, different aspect, different message.
J'ai eu peur vs. J'avais peur
Quand j'ai vu l'araignée, j'ai eu peur.
When I saw the spider, I got scared. (sudden onset — passé composé)
Quand j'étais petit, j'avais peur du noir.
When I was little, I was afraid of the dark. (ongoing state — imparfait)
J'ai su vs. Je savais
J'ai su qu'il était parti seulement ce matin.
I found out he had left only this morning. (the moment of finding out — passé composé)
Je savais qu'il allait partir.
I knew he was going to leave. (ongoing knowledge — imparfait)
J'ai voulu vs. Je voulais
J'ai voulu lui dire la vérité, mais je n'ai pas pu.
I tried to tell him the truth, but I couldn't. (the moment of trying — passé composé)
Je voulais lui dire la vérité depuis longtemps.
I had wanted to tell him the truth for a long time. (ongoing desire — imparfait)
Il a plu vs. Il pleuvait
Il a plu hier soir entre vingt heures et minuit.
It rained last night between eight and midnight. (bounded event — passé composé)
Il pleuvait quand on est sortis du restaurant.
It was raining when we left the restaurant. (background condition — imparfait)
J'ai habité vs. J'habitais
J'ai habité à Lyon pendant cinq ans, puis j'ai déménagé.
I lived in Lyon for five years, then I moved. (bounded duration — passé composé)
J'habitais à Lyon quand j'ai rencontré Marie.
I was living in Lyon when I met Marie. (ongoing state at a past moment — imparfait)
These pairs show that the choice between passé composé and imparfait is not about the dictionary meaning of the verb — it is about how the speaker frames the event. The same verb can take either tense, and the choice changes the meaning.
A worked narrative
Here is a short story that uses both tenses naturally. Read it and notice how each clause does its work.
C'était dimanche après-midi. Il pleuvait, et je m'ennuyais à la maison.
It was Sunday afternoon. It was raining, and I was bored at home. (scene-setting — imparfait throughout)
Soudain, on a sonné à la porte. C'était mon vieil ami Marc, que je n'avais pas vu depuis cinq ans.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. It was my old friend Marc, whom I hadn't seen in five years. (passé composé for the event of the doorbell, imparfait for the description of Marc, plus-que-parfait for the anterior 'hadn't seen')
On s'est embrassés, on est entrés dans le salon, et on a parlé pendant des heures.
We hugged, went into the living room, and talked for hours. (sequence of events — all passé composé)
Pendant qu'on parlait, le soleil est revenu.
While we were talking, the sun came back out. (imparfait for the ongoing talking, passé composé for the punctual return of the sun)
This pattern — imparfait sets the scene; passé composé drives the events forward — is the heartbeat of every French narrative.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using passé composé for description.
❌ Hier, il a fait beau et le soleil a brillé toute la journée.
Incorrect — describing weather as a state takes imparfait, not passé composé.
✅ Hier, il faisait beau et le soleil brillait toute la journée.
Yesterday the weather was nice and the sun was shining all day.
Mistake 2: Using imparfait for a one-time sequence of events.
❌ Hier matin, je me levais à sept heures, je prenais mon petit-déjeuner et je partais au bureau.
Incorrect — these are one-time events, not habits. Use passé composé.
✅ Hier matin, je me suis levé à sept heures, j'ai pris mon petit-déjeuner et je suis parti au bureau.
Yesterday morning, I got up at seven, ate breakfast, and left for the office.
Mistake 3: Translating English progressive ('was reading') with the present continuous (être en train de).
❌ J'étais en train de lire quand le téléphone a sonné.
Not strictly wrong but unnecessarily heavy — the imparfait already conveys 'was reading.'
✅ Je lisais quand le téléphone a sonné.
I was reading when the phone rang. (cleaner, more idiomatic)
Mistake 4: Using imparfait with bounded duration (pendant + length of time).
❌ J'habitais à Lyon pendant trois ans.
Incorrect — pendant + bounded duration triggers passé composé. The duration is finished, not ongoing.
✅ J'ai habité à Lyon pendant trois ans.
I lived in Lyon for three years.
Mistake 5: Treating savoir, vouloir, pouvoir as if they always take imparfait.
❌ Je savais la nouvelle ce matin.
Incorrect if you mean 'I found out the news this morning' — the moment of finding out is passé composé.
✅ J'ai su la nouvelle ce matin.
I found out the news this morning.
✅ Je savais déjà la nouvelle quand tu m'as appelé.
I already knew the news when you called me. (ongoing state — imparfait)
Mistake 6: Mixing aspects in a single clause where they should match.
❌ Quand j'étais petit, je suis allé à la mer tous les étés.
Inconsistent — habitual context (tous les étés) requires imparfait throughout.
✅ Quand j'étais petit, j'allais à la mer tous les étés.
When I was little, I would go to the sea every summer.
Key takeaways
The split between passé composé and imparfait is the structural foundation of French past-tense narrative. Passé composé delivers events; imparfait describes the world in which those events take place. Foreground vs. background. Punctual vs. ongoing. Discrete vs. continuous.
When you are unsure, ask three quick questions: Is this a description? Is it ongoing? Is it habitual? If yes to any, use the imparfait. If no — if it is a discrete event, a sequence step, or a bounded duration — use the passé composé. The contrastive pairs (j'ai su vs. je savais, j'ai eu peur vs. j'avais peur) drive home that the choice is not about the verb's lexical meaning but about how you, the speaker, are framing the action.
Mastering this split is the multi-year project that separates intermediate from advanced French. It rewards practice with reading and listening — every novel, every podcast, every conversation gives you fresh evidence of native intuition. Pay attention, and the pattern becomes second nature.
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Start learning French→Related Topics
- French Past-Tense Narrative System: OverviewB1 — French has five past tenses for narration — passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait, passé simple, and passé antérieur — split between modern (spoken/casual) and literary registers, each with a clear narrative role.
- Passé Composé vs Passé Simple: RegisterC1 — Both tenses translate as the English simple past and mean essentially the same thing — but they live in different registers. Passé composé belongs to spoken and modern written French; passé simple belongs to literature, history, and elevated prose.
- Le Passé Composé: OverviewA1 — The passé composé is French's main spoken past tense — used for completed past events, formed with avoir or être plus a past participle. It does the work that English splits between simple past (I ate) and present perfect (I have eaten).
- L'imparfait : vue d'ensembleA2 — The imparfait — French's past-imperfective tense. Five core uses (habit, description, ongoing action, politeness, hypothetical), one almost-universal formation (1pl present minus -ons plus -ais/-ais/-ait/-ions/-iez/-aient), and the single irregular stem (être → ét-).
- L'Imparfait pour Action InterrompueA2 — The canonical imparfait/passé-composé contrast — ongoing action (imparfait) interrupted by a punctual event (passé composé). Patterns with quand and pendant que, parallel imparfaits, and the most central decision in French past-tense narration.
- L'Imparfait pour les Actions HabituellesA2 — How to express past habits in French with the imparfait — the tense that covers English 'used to', habitual 'would', and the simple past with frequency adverbs. Time markers, the would/would trap, and how to tell habit from event.