The+Past+Tenses

= And now...The past tenses. Yes, with an S. There are quite a few past tenses in French, and some are... weird. For example, did you know that //"que vous eussiez connu//" actually means something ? The name of this tense is //__subjonctif plus-que-parfait__// (yes, it means "more than perfect"). But don't panic, we will stick to only two of these tenses : the __//passé composé//__ and the //__imparfait__.// =

=== You must use the PASSE COMPOSE when you talk about a fact or a story that happened in the past and that is over now. If you're talking about something that has begun in the past but that is not over yet, or about the background of a past story (//Il faisait beau ce jour-là...//) or even about a habit someone had, go for the IMPARFAIT ! ===

practice

Le passé composé !
How to use it ?

**SUBJECT + Avoir / Etre in the present tense + past participle of the verb**
How to find the past participle ?

arriv**é**, bouch**é**... || finir, sortir, cueillir || -I fin**i**, sort**i**, cueill**i**... || descendre, mordre, vendre... || -U descend**u**, mord**u**, vend**u**... || décevoir... || -U déç**u**... || être, avoir dire, faire vivre, mourir || allé, venu été, eu dit, fait vécu, mort || ouvrir offrir voir prendre ... || ouvert offert vu pris ... ||
 * -ER || -É
 * -IR
 * -RE
 * -EVOIR
 * vouloir, devoir, pouvoir, savoir, falloir || voulu, dû, pu, su, fallu ||
 * aller, venir
 * Beaucoup d'irrégularités

When do you have to use //être// or //avoir// ?

This picture gives you the list of all the verbs conjugated with //être.// For all the other verbs, use //avoir// :





== If you want examples, click on the the following link. I found this song on a website for French learners, I don't really like it but I have to admit that there are quite a lot of French verbs in the passé composé. And maybe YOU will like it ! On the description of the song (click on the video to go on YouTube but don't spend hours watching LolCats !) you will find the French lyrics and the translation in English ! And yes, you can dance ! == media type="youtube" key="2MmQjr_3q7w" height="390" width="640"

And if you are feeling nostalgic of the 1960s (well...), and slow music to dance to with your girl/boyfriend... this one is for you :
media type="youtube" key="bj8-_QKN31o" height="390" width="480"

L'imparfait !
How to use it ?

__Take the stem of the "nous" form of the present tense____:__

__ex :__ Nous parl ons

__ + the imparfait endings : __
 * je || parl ais ||
 * tu || parl ais ||
 * il/on/elle || parl ait ||
 * nous || parl ions ||
 * vous || parl iez ||
 * ils/elles || parl aient ||

The only exception is for the verb ETRE :


 * ETRE **
 * j'étais **
 * tu étais **
 * il/elle était **
 * nous étions **
 * vous étiez **
 * ils/elles étaient **

media type="custom" key="9016068"
Passé composé ET imparfait !

If you write a story using the past tenses, you have to use the two tenses, and very often in the same sentence :

**__Je prenais__ (imparfait) le thé quand __tu es arrivé__ (passé composé) = I was having tea when you arrived**

You were doing something --> imparfait And then something happened, a fact --> passé composé

Once again, music ! A hit from the 2000s by the band Indochine.
@http://sauce.pntic.mec.es/~ede00000/eindochine.htm