Passé composé or imparfait?

Kurz erklärt

In a past story, use the passé composé for a completed event that moves the story forward. Use the imparfait for background information: what things were like, what was happening, or what people used to do. The two tenses often work together.

Bildung

Completed event: passé composé. Description, ongoing background, or repeated past action: imparfait.

Verwendung

• Use the passé composé for a single completed action.
• Use the imparfait for descriptions, situations, and habitual past actions.
• Use the imparfait for an action already in progress and the passé composé for the event that interrupts it.

Beispiele

• Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti. — It was raining when I went out.
• Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais souvent dans ce parc. — When I was a child, I often played in this park.
• Nous dînions quand le téléphone a sonné. — We were having dinner when the phone rang.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Hier, il pleuvait toute la journée.

✅ Hier, il a plu toute la journée.

For a completed period such as all day yesterday, French normally uses the passé composé. The English form “was raining” does not automatically require the imparfait.

Merke

Ask whether the verb sets the scene or reports a completed event. Background takes the imparfait; the event takes the passé composé.