What is the difference between the imperfect tense and the passé composé?

They are both used to talk about the past, however the imperfect tense talks about something that happened habitually or over a long period of time in the past and the passé composé is used to talk about a finished one-off action that happened in the past. For example: To say: "When I was younger I played tennis" you would use Imperfect as you played tennis multiple times when you were younger. "Quand j'étais plus jeune, je jouais au tennis"To say: "On Sunday I played tennis" you would use the passé composé as you only played tennis on Sunday as a one-off completed action. "Dimanche, j'ai joué au tennis"

EW
Answered by Eleanor W. French tutor

2023 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

When would you use the <<imparfait>> and when would you use the <<Passé Composé>>?


Vous décrivez vos vacances pour votre blog. Décrivez: • votre destination de vacances préférée • le voyage pour aller à cette destination • vos vacances l’année dernière • votre préférence pour les vacances à l’avenir. Ecrivez environ 90 mots en français.


Est-ce que tu aimes le sport? Si oui, lequel en particulier?


What is the use of the plus-que-parfait tense in French?


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