How is the past tense formulated in French?

At GCSE, one would need to know two versions of the past tense, the passé composé and the imparfait. The P.C. is used to explain events that happened just once and can be in the near or distant past. It is named as such because it is composed of the present tense auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and the past participle.
The imparfait is used to describe repeated events or states of affairs in the past, and is formulated by taking the 'nous' form of the present tense verb, removing the 'ons' ending, and adding the imperfect endings "ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient" for each personal pronoun. The imperfect roughly translates to "used to" in English.

Answered by Ellis H. French tutor

1103 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I know which verbs take être in the passé composé?


Analysez le role et l’importance de la religion dans ‘L’étranger’


How can I structure answers for a long writing question?


How do I remember the difference between the perfect and imperfect tenses?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2024

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences