Passé composé vs imparfait: choosing the right past tense
The decision rule examiners actually listen for, with signal words and worked examples.
Both TEF and TCF speaking and writing tasks regularly push you into the past: describing an experience, telling an anecdote, explaining what went wrong with a product you bought. Mixing up passé composé and imparfait rarely blocks communication — but it is one of the first things that separates a CLB 6 answer from a CLB 8 one, because the contrast carries meaning in French.
The one-sentence rule
The imparfait paints the background scene — what was ongoing, habitual, or descriptive. The passé composé reports the events — what happened, changed, or moved the story forward. Ask yourself: am I setting the scene, or advancing the plot?
Quand j'habitais à Alger, je prenais le bus tous les jours. Un matin, le bus est tombé en panne.Signal words you can trust
Time expressions and the tense they usually call for
| Expression | Usual tense | Why |
|---|---|---|
| tous les jours, chaque été, d'habitude | imparfait | habitude répétée / repeated habit |
| pendant que, alors que | imparfait | action en cours / ongoing background |
| soudain, tout à coup, à ce moment-là | passé composé | événement ponctuel / sudden event |
| hier, la semaine dernière, en 2019 | passé composé | fait daté et terminé / dated completed fact |
| quand j'étais petit(e) | imparfait | période de vie / life period description |
Il pleuvait, les rues étaient désertes, et soudain quelqu'un a frappé à la porte.Quick self-check before you speak or submit
- Underline each past verb in your draft (or pause mentally while speaking).
- Label it: scene (description, habit, ongoing) or event (completed, sequential)?
- Check that every « soudain / à ce moment-là » is followed by a passé composé.
Ready to apply it? Run a writing practice describing a past experience and check whether the corrected version changes any of your tense choices.
Original ScoreRoute lesson — written for TEF Canada / TCF Canada preparation.
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