Breakdown of Le soleil brillait quand le vent a commencé à souffler.
avoir
to have
à
at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)
quand
when
commencer
to start
le soleil
the sun
briller
to shine
le vent
the wind
souffler
to blow
Questions & Answers about Le soleil brillait quand le vent a commencé à souffler.
Why do we use the imparfait for brillait but the passé composé for a commencé?
This is the classic way to tell a story in French! We use the imparfait for brillait because the sun shining is an ongoing background state (setting the scene). We use the passé composé for a commencé because the wind starting to blow is a sudden, specific event that interrupts that background state.
Why is there an à between a commencé and souffler?
In French, many verbs require a specific preposition before a following infinitive (an unconjugated verb). The verb commencer (to begin) specifically pairs with à. You just have to memorize these little joining words, so 'to begin doing something' is always commencer à followed by the infinitive.
Why isn't souffler in the past tense like the other verbs?
Because it directly follows a preposition (à). In French, any verb that comes right after a preposition (like à, de, or pour) must remain in its infinitive (dictionary) form. It also completes the main verb phrase 'began to blow', where only 'began' gets conjugated.
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