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When should I use imparfait and passé composé?

Passé composé (AVOIR ou ETRE + participe passé) is used for ponctuel actions in the past which have been ended. Ce matin, j’ai mangé une tartine de pain. On the other hand, imparfait is ...

Answered by Charlotte M. • French tutor

2381 Views

Explain why the verb ‘mettre’ in its past tense form as it appears in the following sentence “Il a décroché la casserole et l’a mise sur la table” has a feminine ending or terminaison (despite the auxiliary’s verb ‘avoir’’s neutrality)?

Generally the past participle doesn’t agree with any noun when the auxiliary verb ‘avoir’ is used. For example: ‘Elles ont acheté des bottes’ despite the subject ‘elles’ and the direct object ‘bott...

Answered by Clemency H. • French tutor

2517 Views

What is the difference between the perfect tense and the imperfect tense?

Both tenses are used to describe something that happened in the past. In every day conversation, the perfect tense is almost always used e.g. j'ai joué, j'ai trouvé.... When writing, the perfect tense is ...

Answered by Antoinette C. • French tutor

1789 Views

How do I remember which verbs take être in the perfect tense?

There are a selection of "verbs of movement" in French which use être as their auxiliary verb in the perfect tense instead of avoir. You can remember these using the mnemonic "MRS VAN DER T...

Answered by Mary M. • French tutor

5145 Views

Explore the ways in which the conflict between generations is portrayed in one of the books you have studied ['Le Liseur', Bernhard Schlink].

Through the two protagonists, Michael and Hanna, Schlink portrays the conflict between the WWII generation and the post-war generation in Germany as one that can never be understood by one another. Indeed...

Answered by Aurelie H. • French tutor

1512 Views