Kilo Lingo
French grammar Part of Chapter 9

CEFR A2-B1

3 min read

Test yourself (28 questions)

Passé Composé vs Imparfait: Choosing the French Past Tense

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

Use the for an event that happened and finished: , . Use the imparfait for what was going on, what used to happen, or how things were: . In a story, the imparfait sets the scene and the moves the action on.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Passé composé (a finished event) or imparfait (a habit, an action in progress or a description)?

  1. Hier soir, je un film. (regarder: I watched)

  2. Je un film tous les soirs. (regarder)

  3. Quand je suis arrivé, Marie au téléphone. (parler: was talking)

The choice at a glance

Ask these questions about the verb, in order. The first yes decides. The colour marks the tense all page long.

imparfait, the backgroundpassé composé, the eventWhat do the colours mean?
TestTenseExample
"used to"imparfait . - I used to play in the park.
"was ...-ing"imparfait . - He was reading.
a descriptionimparfait . - It was cold.
it happened, done . - He left.
a counted length . - I waited two hours.
a sudden change . - I got scared.

The imparfait come first on purpose. English speakers reach for the by default, so the useful check is whether there is a reason not to.

To build the forms, see the passé composé guide and the imparfait guide.

Same verb, two tenses

One English past, two French ones. The column happened and is over; the imparfait column is a habit, a scene or an open stretch.

VerbPassé composéImparfait
, . .
. .
. .
. .

Words that point to each tense

Time phrases settle most choices. A point in time or a count takes the ; repetition or a long stretch takes the imparfait.

Passé composéImparfait

Watch . With a length it closes the action: . - I slept for two hours. With it opens a background: - while I was sleeping.

The interruption: je dormais quand...

imparfait, the backgroundpassé composé, the eventWhat do the colours mean?

The commonest way the two tenses meet: an action in progress (imparfait) is cut across by an event ( ).

  • je dormais (imparfait: going on)

  • le téléphone a sonné (passé composé: it happened)

Timeline from past to now, with now marked.

  • . - I was sleeping when the phone rang.
  • , . - When I arrived, was reading.
  • , . - While I was talking, he came in.

The order of the clauses can change; the tenses cannot. The action in progress keeps the imparfait wherever it sits.

Both tenses in one story

Read the story one sentence at a time. The imparfait paints the scene; each is a step forward.

StepFrenchTense and why
1 .imparfait: the time
2 .imparfait: the weather
3 .imparfait: in progress
4 . : it happened
5 . : next step
6 . : next step
7 .imparfait: description
8 .imparfait: how he looked

It was eight o'clock and it was cold. I was reading in my room. Someone knocked at the door. I got up. I opened the door. It was my brother. He looked tired.

When the story stops to describe, the tense goes back to the imparfait, as it does for the brother.

Verbs that change meaning

A few verbs say something different in each tense. The imparfait gives the state; the gives the moment it changed.

VerbImparfait: stateP. composé: event
- I knew - I found out
- I knew - I met
- I wanted - I tried to
- I could - I managed to
- I had - I got
- I was supposed to - I had to (and did)
  • Marie. - I knew Marie (we were already acquainted).
  • Marie 2010. - I met Marie in 2010.

Common mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
a counted event
background state
, , a sudden event
a counted length is closed

What to do next

  1. Retell yesterday in five sentences: two in the imparfait for the scene, three in the for what happened.
  2. Underline the time words first; they settle most choices.
  3. Add the third past tense with the plus-que-parfait.

Practise: test yourself

Complete the story

0/6

Choose the passé composé or the imparfait for each gap.

A knock at the door

Il huit heures et il faisait froid. Je dans ma chambre. Tout à coup, quelqu'un à la porte. Je et j'ai ouvert. C' mon frère. Il l'air fatigué.

Gap 1 of 6

Pick the right one

0/6

Passé composé (a finished event) or imparfait (a habit, an action in progress or a description)?

  1. Hier soir, je un film. (regarder: I watched)

  2. Je un film tous les soirs. (regarder)

  3. Quand je suis arrivé, Marie au téléphone. (parler: was talking)

  4. Pendant que je parlais avec ma mère, mon père . (entrer: came in)

  5. Il faisait nuit et la ville calme. (être)

  6. Ce matin, mon frère à dix heures. (arriver: arrived)

Sort into groups

0/8

Which tense does each time phrase usually call for?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the verb in the wrong tense.

Translation drill

0/4

Translate into French, choosing the passé composé for events and the imparfait for habits, actions in progress and descriptions.

  1. Yesterday evening, I watched a film.

  2. Marie was sleeping when I came home.

  3. It was night and the town was calm.

  4. When I was young, I used to play in town.

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Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. The choice at a glance
  3. Same verb, two tenses
  4. Words that point to each tense
  5. Both tenses in one story
  6. Verbs that change meaning
  7. Common mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest way to choose between and imparfait?
Ask whether the action is a finished event or a background. A single event, or a chain of events that moves the story on, takes the : , (yesterday I ate a pizza). A habit, an action in progress or a description takes the imparfait: (I used to eat a pizza every Saturday). If English could say 'used to' or 'was ...-ing', it is the imparfait.
Is 'it was' or a in French?
Usually , because 'it was' normally describes: (it was great). a sums up a finished episode as an event, often with a time frame: a (it was hard for two years). In conversation, is the natural choice.
Does take or imparfait?
with a length of time takes the , because the duration is closed: (I slept for two hours). (while) introduces the background, usually in the imparfait: , a neigé (while I was sleeping, it snowed). One word, two opposite signals.
Why is it and not ?
Because the five years are counted and over: a stated, finished length makes the whole period one event, however long it lasted. means that chapter is closed. Use the imparfait when the living is the background to something else: (I was living in when I met my wife).
Which past tense does French use for descriptions and states?
The imparfait, almost always: (it was cold), (she was young), (I was scared), (it was midnight). The exception is a state that starts at a moment: a aboyé (I got scared when the dog barked) is an event, so it takes the .