The French imperfect tenseWhen to use the perfect and imperfect
The imperfect tense describes an ongoing action in the past or something that used to happen. Get to grips with using the imperfect tense and check your understanding with a quiz.
The perfect tenseUsed to talk about something you have done. It is formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and a past participle. and the imperfect tenses are often used in the same sentence. The imperfect tense is used for an ongoing action that was interrupted by a sudden action – in the perfect tense. For example:
Je regardais la télé quand tu as téléphoné. – I was watching TV (imperfect) when you phoned (perfect.)
Il jouait au foot quand il est tombé. – He was playing football (imperfect) when he fell over (perfect).
