Past Tense

1. PastTense

2. Simple Past • Used to express somethingthat has happened in the pastwithoutreference to the present. • This is the mostcommonform of the past in English and the generaltense of narratives and history. • Generallyformed by adding an –ed to the word(pass – passed)

3. PresentPerfect • This tense expresses an action in the pastthatstill has someconnection to the present. • Sometimes in translation, eitherthis or the simple pastmaybe possible depending on the interpretation of the translator. • Ex. I have gone to the grocery store three times thisweek. • This isformedwithto have plus the pastparticiple.

4. Other Uses of PresentPerfect • Notably, the presentperfectmayalsobeused for actions thatbegan in the past but have not yetfinished. Ex. I have hated oranges since I was a little kid. • It mayalsoindicate an action that has justtaken place. Ex. I have just come from the university.

5. Past Progressive • The past progressive describes an action in the pastthatwasin the process of taking place. • Ex. Wewerestudying for the exam. • It isformedwithto be plus an –ingverb.

6. Difficulties of Translation • Thesethreetenses do not alwayscorrespond directly to their French counterparts. • Passé Composé • Imparfait • Passé Simple

7. Translating the Passé Composé • The passé composéis the closestequivalent to the English simple past. It generally expresses actions thattook place in the past. • However, the passé composé isalso the tensethat best corresponds to the English presentperfect. Thus, one has to use context to determine how to translate thistense.

8. Examples – Passé Composé • L’année dernière, j’ai acheté un ordinateur. • Last year, I bought a computer. (simple past) • Cette semaine, j’ai mangé trois pommes. • This week, I have eatenthreeapples. (presentperfect) • This is not an absoluterule. Sometimes, other translations are possible.

9. PresentPerfect in “be + ing” • Sometimes, the passé composé is best translated in a presentperfectusing“to be” + the “ing” form of the verb, in a similar way to how the French present can sometimes represent the English present progressive. • Ex (present): J’étudie toute la journée. • I amstudying all day. • Ex (past): J’ai étudié toute la journée. • I have been studying all day • **As always, thisdepends on the surroundingcontext.

10. Imparfait • The imparfaitisfrequentlythe equivalent of the English past progressive. • Note that the imparfait is a simple tense, while the past progressive is a compound tense. • Ex. Je dormais quand l’alarme a sonné. • I was sleeping when the alarmsounded.

11. Imparfait • However, the imparfaitcanalsosometimessimply correspond to the English simple past, especiallywithverbslike“to be” and especially with habitual actions. It can sometimes even correspond to the conditional or the English expression (used to). • Ex. Quand j’habitais en France, je mangeais beaucoup de pain tous les jours. • When I livedin France, I ate a lot of breadeveryday. • WhenI used to live in France, I wouldeat a lot of breadeveryday.

12. Passé Simple • The French passé simpleisgenerallyonlyseen in formalwriting and isalmostalwaystranslated to the English simple past. • Ex. Il aida les pauvres. • He helped the poor.

13. Pluperfect or PastPerfect • This expresses somethingthattook place beforesome time alreadyin the pastitself. • Ex. Il avait déjà volé $400 quand la police est arrivée. • He hadalreadystolen $400 when the police arrived. • This translates relativelydirectlybetween French and English, withoccasional exceptions.

14. PastConditional • This expresses somethingthatmight have happened in the past if some condition had been met. • It also translates relativelydirectlyfromits French equivalent. • Ex. Il serait venu à Rabat si tu l'avais demandé. • He would have come to Rabat if youhadaskedhim.

15. Overview of PastTense Translation • Passé composé  simple past or presentperfect • Imparfait  past progressive, simple past, conditional, or “used to.” • Passé simple  simple past • Plus-que-parfait  pluperfect/pastperfect • Passé conditionnel pastconditional

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