
The imperfect tense (l'imparfait), one of several past tenses in French, is used to describe states of being and habitual actions in the past as well as several idiomatic uses. Generally speaking, the imperfect describes past situations, while the passé composé narrates specific events. In addition, the imperfect can set the stage for an event expressed with the passé composé. The imperfect describes an ongoing action with no specified completion:
J'allais en France. - I was going to France.
Je visitais des monuments et prenais des photos. - I was visiting monuments and taking pictures
The passé composé expresses one or more events or actions that began and ended in the past:
Je suis allé en France. - I went to France.
J'ai visité des monuments et pris des photos. - I visited some monuments and took some pictures.
The imperfect is used for habitual or repeated actions, something that happened an uncounted number of times:
Je voyageais en France tous les ans. - I traveled (used to travel) to France every year.
Je visitais souvent le Louvre. - I often visited the Louvre. http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/pasttenses.htm
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/foreign-languages/french/french-ii/french-ii-past-tenses/the-imparfait
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/tap5.htmlhttp://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/tap6.html
J'allais en France. - I was going to France.
Je visitais des monuments et prenais des photos. - I was visiting monuments and taking pictures
The passé composé expresses one or more events or actions that began and ended in the past:
Je suis allé en France. - I went to France.
J'ai visité des monuments et pris des photos. - I visited some monuments and took some pictures.
The imperfect is used for habitual or repeated actions, something that happened an uncounted number of times:
Je voyageais en France tous les ans. - I traveled (used to travel) to France every year.
Je visitais souvent le Louvre. - I often visited the Louvre. http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/pasttenses.htm
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/foreign-languages/french/french-ii/french-ii-past-tenses/the-imparfait
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/tap5.htmlhttp://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/tap6.html