When do I use the perfect or imperfect tense?

When talking about the past in French, the two commonly used tenses are the passé composé and the imparfait. It is important to consider which of these tenses to use, otherwise you may not be communicating what you had intended.Passé composéThis tense is generally used to talk about an isolated incident - an action that occured once and is now complete. For example:Il a ouvert la porte. He opened the door.L'année dernière, nous sommes allés en France. Last year, we went to France.This tense can be constructed with the verb "avoir" or "être" depending on the verb you are conjugating.ImparfaitThis tense can be used in a couple of ways. Firstly, any habitual actions in the past (things you "used to do") can be expressed in the imparfait. For example:Quand j'étais petite, j'allais au cinema chaque weekend. When I was small, I used to go to the cinema every weekend.You should also use this tense when describing an interrupted action. For example:On parlait dans le salon quand le téléphone a sonné. We were talking in the living room when the telephone rang.