French: past/imperfect tense

Can you please help me fill in the gap using past tense or imperfect:

1) Quand j'étais plus jeune ___ des confiseries (manger)
2) Le weekend dernier ___ des frites (manger)
3) L'année dernière ___ de la voile (faire)
4) Dans le passé ___ de la natation (faire)
5) Quand j'étais un adolescent je ne ___ pas (fumer)
6) La semaine dernière ___ trop de cigarettes (fumer)

Thank you!

Reply 1

coolblergh

16

This doesn't make sense.

Unless:

1) Je mangeais
2) J'ai mangé
3) J'ai fais
4) Je faisais
5) Je ne fumais pas
6) J'ai fumé

Welcome :smile:

3) is j'ai fait?

Original post by year9sucks

Can you please help me fill in the gap using past tense or imperfect:

1) Quand j'étais plus jeune ___ des confiseries (manger)
2) Le weekend dernier ___ des frites (manger)
3) L'année dernière ___ de la voile (faire)
4) Dans le passé ___ de la natation (faire)
5) Quand j'étais un adolescent je ne ___ pas (fumer)
6) La semaine dernière ___ trop de cigarettes (fumer)

Thank you!

Are we, by any chance, doing your homework for you?

Reply 4

LysFromParis

10

Original post by SaveItForTheMorning

3) is j'ai fait?

yes it is.

Reply 5

Cynthi007

1

Original post by Tootles

Are we, by any chance, doing your homework for you?

I think so because there was no question to explain the rules for the use of passé composé or imparfait.

Reply 6

Arekkusu

16

If it's a single self-contained action, use perfect. If it's a habitual, repeated or continuous action, use imperfect.

Reply 7

Tootles

21

Original post by Cynthi007

I think so because there was no question to explain the rules for the use of passé composé or imparfait.

Heh, I just read the OP's posts. They're all asking for us to do their homework.

Reply 8

Hylean

15

Original post by coolblergh

2) J'ai mangé
3) J'ai fais
6) J'ai fumé

Original post by LysFromParis

yes it is.

Why is it not past indicative/simple past/preterite/whatever the French call it?

Reply 9

sugarmice

Why are all of your posts asking people to "help" you with your homework? You do realise you can't take TSR into your exams right?

Reply 10

MathsLord

Omelette du fromage - Dexter's Lab.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 11

LysFromParis

10

Original post by Hylean

Why is it not past indicative/simple past/preterite/whatever the French call it?

Because it's current French. If you were writting you could say :

L'année dernière, Jean-Pierre fit de la voile le temps d'un week-end.

But usually you would say :

L'année dernière, Jean-Pierre a fait de la voile le temps d'un week-end.

The meaning is strictly the same.

We could also say :

L'année dernière, Jean-Pierre faisait de la voile.

But it will mean that he took lessons/travelled during a whole year, while the two previous sentence means he did it for a short period of time (that's why I added le temps d'un week end).

L'année dernière, Jean-Pierre a fait de la voile.

You will understand he did it during holidays or something.

3) L'année dernière ___ de la voile (faire)

So for this question imparfait could also work as there is a lack of context to choose the "right" tense.

Reply 12

LysFromParis

10

Original post by MathsLord

Omelette du fromage.

Omelette au fromage.

Reply 13

MathsLord

Original post by LysFromParis

Omelette au fromage.

Yeah, I know it's spelt that way. I was quoting from Dexter's Lab.

Reply 14

LysFromParis

10

Original post by MathsLord

Yeah, I know it's spelt that way. I was quoting from Dexter's Lab.

Sorry I have no idea what Dexter's Lab is ^^.

Reply 15

MathsLord

Original post by LysFromParis

Sorry I have no idea what Dexter's Lab is ^^.

Oh don't worry. It's a cartoon.

Reply 16

Hylean

15

Original post by LysFromParis

*snips*

Whilst all that's perfectly true, it doesn't actually answer my question. Saying it's Modern French doesn't explain the function shift. Why is the Perfect Tense suddenly being used where the Preterite/Simple Past/Past Indicative/Whatever It's Called in French was used before? This is why I also referenced the other post, which uses the Perfect in 2,3 and 6, where I would've chosen the Past Indicative.

Reply 17

LysFromParis

10

Original post by Hylean

Whilst all that's perfectly true, it doesn't actually answer my question. Saying it's Modern French doesn't explain the function shift. Why is the Perfect Tense suddenly being used where the Preterite/Simple Past/Past Indicative/Whatever It's Called in French was used before? This is why I also referenced the other post, which uses the Perfect in 2,3 and 6, where I would've chosen the Past Indicative.

It's not modern/old french, it's written/academic vs spoken/common French. It is two different context, I suppose you have a similar distinction in English ? Your answer is totally correct, it's just not spoken French.

Why we shifted from passé simple to passé composé, that I have no idea. We just have two different level of language.

Reply 18

Hylean

15

Original post by LysFromParis

It's not modern/old french, it's written/academic vs spoken/common French. It is two different context, I suppose you have a similar distinction in English ? Your answer is totally correct, it's just not spoken French.

Why we shifted from passé simple to passé composé, that I have no idea. We just have two different level of language.

Nyah, spoken language is always more evolved than written language so technically it could be called Modern as opposed to written, though it'd be a false dichotomy, so you're right there.

Every language that has a written version and a spoken version has a different version for each. The spoken is generally simpler than the written, which is why I find it interesting that spoken French has decided to use a more complicated construction.

Reply 19

Xurvi

11

It's Passé Simple. And we use the Passé composé simply because it's informal. The passé simple tends to disappear and to be reduced to very formal or old-fashioned speech, or narration. Maybe it is similar to "is it not?" and "isn't it?".

The reason why we use the passé composé is because it's simpler. Longer maybe but simpler to use. The structure is [present form of Avoir/Être] + [Past participle], it's easy and there are almost no irregulars. While the passé simple has many (Il fut, il eut, etc). Might also be because it's usually simpler to pronounce: compare Nous fîmes de la natation and Nous avons fait de la natation (or even On a fait de la natation) for instance.

(edited 13 years ago)

French: past/imperfect tense

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