The core distinction
Passé composé describes finished actions — events with a clear start and end. Imparfait describes the background — ongoing states, repeated habits, and the scene around the events.
If you are telling a story in French, the events are passé composé and the description is imparfait. Both will usually appear in the same paragraph.
The two-question test
Before you choose a tense, ask:
- 1. Did the action happen once and finish? → passé composé.
- 2. Was it ongoing, repeated, or describing the scene? → imparfait.
Example sentences side by side
| Quand j'étais petit, je jouais au foot. | When I was little, I used to play football. Habit → imparfait |
| Hier, j'ai joué au foot. | Yesterday, I played football. One event → passé composé |
| Il faisait beau et les oiseaux chantaient. | It was nice out and the birds were singing. Background → imparfait |
| Soudain, le téléphone a sonné. | Suddenly, the phone rang. Event → passé composé |
Time markers that signal each tense
If you see one of these, the tense usually picks itself.
Imparfait signals
tous les jours, souvent, quand j'étais jeune, chaque été, d'habitude, à l'époque.
Passé composé signals
hier, soudain, ce matin, l'année dernière, deux fois, un jour.
Common trap: state verbs
Verbs of mental and emotional state — être, avoir, savoir, vouloir, penser — usually take imparfait when describing how something was. They take passé composé only when the state changes at a specific moment. Example: J'avais peur (I was afraid, ongoing) vs J'ai eu peur (I got scared, suddenly).