What is the difference between the passé composé and imparfait?

The passé composé is used to express a completed action in the past, whereas the imparfait can be used to describe an ongoing state or action, or something that used to happen.Passé composécomplete actionJ’ai fini mes devoirs.(I finished my homework)countedJ’ai perdu mon livre deux fois.(I lost my book twice)newÀ ce moment, j’ai détesté l’école.(At that moment, I hated school)Imparfaitincomplete actionJe faisais mes devoirs.(I was doing my homework)uncountedJe perdais constamment mon livre.(I always used to lose my book)ongoing/continuousJ’aimais l’école.(I liked school)Here's a sentence that uses both tenses...Je faisais mes devoirs quand le téléphone a sonné.(I was doing my homework when the phone rang)

EH
Answered by Esmat H. French tutor

2341 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What do I conjugate regular ER verbs?


How do I know if a French verb belongs to the 1st, 2nd of 3rd conjugation group?


Where do adjectives go in French? (Word order)


How can we remember which verbs take Etre in the perfect tense?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning