Question about the Imparfait (1 Viewer)

[Sugar]

I'm in Year 11, and I'm a bit confused about the imparfait.

Is the imparfait describing a one-off event, meaning that I did not do on a regular basis? e.g. I turned 14 years old last year.

Or it is used to describe an event that was recurrent? e.g. I used to practice netball every week.

Thanks in advance.

 

[adkel]

yeah good question the whole imparfait stuffs me up all the time, im in year 12 and just bout to do my half yearly... has any one got any good tips for studying french. especially imparfait!

Merci

 

[chepas]

The last one. Though that's only one of the million other uses, that I can't remember and that I am battling too.

I just looked at the grammar thing in my dictionary, and the other uses are too abstract that I won't even try to understand and explain.

That netball example's good because it's one of those "I used to..." things, also it's used for quote "an action (or state) in the past without definite limits in time", ie

- She was looking out of the window.

We don't know if she stopped looking out of the window, so it'll use the imperfect, Elle regardait par la fentre. Also with:

- It was raining when I left the house

We don't know if it stopped raining, so the action hasn't definitively stopped yet, so = imperfect. BUT, 'I left the house', that action was a one-off event, finite, and the leaving had been committed, then the leaving finished. So one uses the passe compos.

Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti de chez moi.

Imperfect - Pass compos

There was some other uses that I can't remember what the teacher said, but I spose those are the only one's one really needs to worry about at the moment.

I hope that helps remotely - anyone else any thoughts?
Chpas

 

[chepas]

Sugar, I love ur sig! Hurrah for Finding Nemo. The seagulls rule though:

Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

 

[Sugar]

Thankyou so much Chpas! Cheers! That cleared it up for me.

Finding Nemo rocks! Haha the seagulls are funny.

 

[chepas]

De rien, Sugar

Fish are friends! (Is that how it went? I only saw it about 2 weeks ago for the 1st time. )

 

[Sugar]

Originally posted by chepas
De rien, Sugar

Fish are friends! (Is that how it went? I only saw it about 2 weeks ago for the 1st time. )

I haven't seen the entire movie yet!

I was on exchange in France when Finding Nemo came out, and I had exams after I came back. We watched it at camp for "Movie night" but everyone went back to our cabin halfway through the movie because we were all tired.

Fish are friends, not food!