French past tenses are essential for expressing actions, events, and states that occurred in the past. The two most important past tenses are the passé composé and the imparfait, each serving distinct purposes: the passé composé for completed actions and the imparfait for ongoing or habitual situations. Other past tenses, like the plus-que-parfait, are also used to describe actions that happened before another past event.
- Passé Composé: Used for completed actions, the passé composé is formed with an auxiliary verb (être or avoir) and a past participle.
- Imparfait: Used for ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past, the imparfait has its own unique set of endings attached to the verb stem.
- Plus-que-parfait: Describes actions that were completed before another past action, formed with the imparfait of the auxiliary verb plus the past participle.
Understanding when and how to use these tenses allows for precise and nuanced storytelling in French.