How can I tell the difference between the imperfect/pluperfect/perfect tenses? When do I use them?

In English, we don't even think about the tenses we use – they come naturally to us. In French, we need to think a bit more about which tenses we use. Imagine a timeline in your head. What we are doing right now, right here – that is the present tense. I do, I am doing etc. – all the present tense. The French 'imperfect' tense corresponds to a tense in English which we call the 'past progressive' – that is, 'I was reading' (Je lisais). So, the imperfect tense in French is used to express an ongoing or lasting action in the past. However the French imperfect tense is used much more frequently than the English past progressive, as it is also used to express continuing or repeated actions in the past: Quand nous vivions à Paris nous n'avions pas de voiture. When we were living in Paris we didn't have a car. 1. Je blaguais. I was joking 2. A l'époque, la maison m'appartenait. At the time, the house belonged to me. 3. Il achetait souvent des livres rares. He often bought rare books . 4. Au moment de l'accident la voiture roulait très vite. At the time of the accident the car was going very fast. 5. L'homme travaillait souvent dans son jardin très tard le soir. The man often used to work in his garden very late in the evening. 6. J'allais vous dire que je reconnaissais cet homme. I was going to tell you that I recognised that man. 7. Je suis tombé de mon vélo alors que je sortais du garage. I fell off my bike as I was coming out of the garage. 8. Je somnolais quand j'ai entendu le réveil I was snoozing when I heard the alarm. On the contrary, the perfect tense is used to express a completed action. J'ai mangé un croissant. I ate a croissant. Done. Finished. Simple. The pluperfect tense in French is used to express action in a distant past. OR The pluperfect is used in sentences that relate two past events to each other, where one of the events took place further in the past than the other. For example: Quand nous sommes arrivés, le bus était déjà parti. When we arrived, the bus HAD already left. Examples: 1. J'avais parlé à mon avocat avant de venir I'd spoken to my lawyer before coming 2. A peine avait-il fini de ranger ses outils, qu'il se mit à pleuvoir. He'd hardly finished putting away his tools, than it started to rain. 3. Nous avions bien regardé la maison avant de l'acheter. We'd had a good look at the house before buying it . 4. J'avais pensé que tu pourrais venir cet après-midi. I'd thought you might come this afternoon. 5. La construction du pont avait été commencé par les Romains. The building of the bridge was started under the Romans. 6. Je vous connais, parce que ma mère avait souvent parlé de vous. I know you, because my mother often talked about you. 7. Il disait qu'il avait déjà assez bu. He said he'd already drunk enough. 8. Je savais que tu me l'avais déjà dit. I knew you'd already told me.