i was wondering if anyone had some key words to watch for when you're trying to distinguish whether to use the passe compose, parfait, or plus que parfait in a sentence
ok, it took me such a long time to understand when to use which one, this is what helped.
passe compose = I played football
j'ai joue au foot
parfait = I was playing footbal
I used to play football
je jouais au foot
plus que parfait = I had been playing football when..
j'avais joue au foot quand..
basically just use the one u need.
http://www.gcse.com/french/tense_past.ht...
http://french.about.com/library/weekly/a...
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~creitan/clark....
http://www.polarfle.com/exercice/inteimp...
http://www.lepointdufle.net/pqp.htm
http://webhome.idirect.com/~frankyng/eng...
Between passé composé and imparfait, it's just about seeing the action as being already completed, relatively to the present time, or seeing it just as having started in the past, and understand it as if virtually frozen during its course of action, so as not to have to determine whether it ended yet or not.
Plus-que-parfait introduces the same concept as passé composé, but relatively to a past story line. Some action was already completed around the time during which the story goes.
So, for instance:
Depuis qu'il a goûté au chocolat, on ne peut plus l'arrêter.
-> the first tasting of chocolate is completed and is a starting point for the rest of the sentence ; since that point, he can't be stopped.
Depuis qu'il goûtait tous les plats, on ne pouvait plus rien lui reprocher.
-> At some moment in the past, he started to taste every meal. Because this action was on-going (we don't consider how it ended), nothing could be reproached to him.
So, with "depuis que", a starting point can be given with passé composé or imparfait. Plus-que-parfait, too.
Depuis qu'il avait perdu l'appétit, il maigrissait de jour en jour.
Il y avait.. que implies a "frozen-open" lasting period of time, so imparfait or plus-que-parfait are to be used.
Pendant que may work either with an imparfait tense or with a passé composé, depending on whether the actions should be seen as completed or "frozen-open":
Pendant qu'il pleuvait, on s'ennuyait.
Pendant qu'il a plu, on s'est ennuyé.
I would personaly avoid plus-que-parfait with pendant que. Maybe passé composé should be frowned upon too, as pendant should just convey simultaneity, rather than something like constrast or mockery, as here.
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