How do you know if you should use the French Perfect Tense or if you should use French Imperfect Tense?

The French perfect tense is used to describe a completed action in the past. The action can be seen as specific, that occurred at one particular time. The best way to recognise that the Perfect Tense is necessary is to use a time phrase which clarifies the situation that you are describing, such as "un jour," "puis" and "d'abord." All these phrases indicate an action that happened only once and is now over. "J'ai joué, can be translated in English to be "I have played" or "I played."On the other hand, the French Imperfect Tense is used when an action in the past is considered incomplete. It may have occurred over a period of time rather than only happening once. The Imperfect is also used for description in French, when giving physical or emotional information. Time phrases which require the Imperfect Tense include "Tous les jours," "D'habitude" and "Chaque jour" as they indicate a repeated action. "Je jouais" can be translated in English to be "I was playing" or "I used to play."