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Mini-lecture sur la grammaire Numéro 5

Mini-lecture sur la grammaire Numéro 5. Présentée par Megan Brown. Passé composé vs. L’imparfait. First, a review of the conjugations: Passé composé : the name gives a clue about formation – passé for “past” and “ composé ” for “compound.” The passé composé is a compound tense:

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Mini-lecture sur la grammaire Numéro 5

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  1. Mini-lecture sur la grammaireNuméro 5 Présentée par Megan Brown

  2. Passé composé vs. L’imparfait • First, a review of the conjugations: • Passé composé: the name gives a clue about formation – passé for “past” and “composé” for “compound.” • The passé composé is a compound tense: • A conjugated form of EITHER avoir OR être (called an auxiliary verb) + past participle of the verb you want to use • Example: Tu as mangé./ Je suisarrivé.

  3. Passé composé • How to form auxiliary verbs (avoir): • Use the present tense of avoir: • I: J’ai • You (singular/informal): Tu as • He/she/one: Il a/Elle a/On a • We: Nous avons • You (formal/plural): Vousavez • They: Ilsont/Ellesont

  4. How to form auxiliary verbswith être • Use the present tense conjugations of être: • Je suis, tues, il est, elle est, on est, nous sommes, vousêtes, ilssont, ellessont • Only a handful of verbs need être as the auxiliary verb. • Here is a link to a site containing a list of them. I recommend reading all four pages: • http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/etreverbs.htm

  5. How to form past participles(Participespassés) • Regular verb formation follows these patterns: • -ER: Remove the ending and add –é (AllerAllé) • -IR: Remove the ending and add –i(Réussir Réussi) • -RE: Remove the ending and add –u (RépondreRépondu)

  6. Irregular past participles • Most irregular verbs have irregular past participles. Here are some common irregular verb examples: • venir > venuvivre > vécuvoir > vuvouloir > voulu • pouvoir > puprendre > pris • dire > dit • avoir > eu • Expanded list: http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/pastparticiple_2.htm

  7. Practice • Practice conjugating verbs in the passé composé: • Travailler • Aller • Voir • Special challenge (Translate): “Saturday he saw his mother, talked to the doctor, and found a cat.”

  8. Okay…but when do I use it? • Now that you can conjugate the passé composé, you need to know how to use it: • I. An action completed in the past • II. An action repeated a number of times in the past • III. A series of actions completed in the past • The passé composé has three possible English equivalents. For example, j'aidansé can mean: • I danced   (simple past) • I have danced   (present perfect) • I did dance   (past emphatic)

  9. The imperfect tense(L’imparfait) • The imperfect tense is a past tense. You use it for ongoing or repeated past actions, if the action was repeated an unspecific number of times. You also use it for descriptions, states of being, wishes, and suggestions. • People usually translate it into English as “was ____-ing,” “was,” or sometimes in the past tense. • Examples: The weather was nice yesterday. When I was young, I went to elementary school.

  10. How to conjugate the imperfect • Conjugating the imperfect tense is easy. Find the present tense “nous” form and drop the –onsending. Then tack on these endings:

  11. Some conjugated verbs in the imperfect tense • Manger: (Nous mangeons – ons = mange-) • Je mangeais, tumangeais, il mangeait, nous mangions, vousmangiez, ilsmangeaient • Parler: (Nous parlons – ons = parl-) • Je parlais, tuparlais, il parlait, nous parlions, vousparliez, ilsparlaient • Étudier: (Nous étudions – ons = étudi-) • J’étudiais, tuétudiais, il étudiait, nous étudiions, vousétudiiez, ilsétudiaient

  12. Irregular verbs in the imperfect • Être is the only irregular verb in the imperfect tense, because the 3rd person present tense conjugation, nous sommes, has no –onsending to drop. • Its stem is ét- • J’étais, tuétais, il était, nous étions, vousétiez, ilsétaient • - Some other verbs will undergo spelling changes in the imperfect (like manger), but they are still regular verbs.

  13. Example sentences in the imperfect tense • Quand j'étais petit, nous allions à la plagechaquesemaine.   When I was young, we used to go to the beach every week. • Il était midi et il faisait beau.   It was noon and the weather was nice. • Il espéraittevoiravant ton départ.   He was hoping to see you before you left. • Il était à la banque quand il l'atrouvé.   He was at the bank when he found it. • Ah ! Si j'étais riche !   Oh, if only I were rich!

  14. Comparison table of passé composé use vs. l’imparfait use

  15. A mnemonic device • Passé composéfocuses on specificpast time periods and completed actions. Think of it as your accomplished business exec who has everything together:

  16. A mnemonic device L’imparfait, on the other hand, deals with vaguepast time periods, descriptions, and habitual past actions. It is your laid-back beach bum type.

  17. Sources and helpful links • http://www.french.about.com • A test on passé composé vs. imparfait: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa060799t.htm • Test your ability to conjugate verbs in the imperfect tense: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa010200t.htm

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