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There are many ways to talk about actions that happened in the past. Here are just a few examples in English—the past tense verbs are underlined and their infinitives are given in parentheses:
- I went to the market yesterday. (to go)
- As I was driving along (to drive), I noticed a strange noise in my car. (to notice)
- I've paid an arm and a leg. (to pay)
You notice that there is quite a lot of variety in the types of past one can use and the verb forms associated with them. Let's take a closer look at these examples:
- I went, I noticed: This is a simple past tense (in English). We use it when we want to talk about an action that is done and over with. The verb form that we use for this tense is generally called the preterite. For most English verbs it is the form that ends in –ed, as in: I worked, I travelled, etc. When the French want to express the same notion of time, they use the Passé Composé.
- As I was driving...: This is a compound tense, in that it uses a helping verb (to be) and a participle (driving) to form the past tense. The participle is called the Present Participle. This tense is used when we want to express the continuous nature of an activity. When the French want to express the same notion of time, they use the Imperfect.
- I've paid...: This is a compound tense in that it uses a helping verb (have) and a Past Participle (paid). We use this tense sometimes interchangeably with the preterite (first example) to indicate that an action is completed. When the French want to express a similar notion of time they use the Passé Composé.
In the Preview section of the program you can see two instances of the past tense:
| J'ai eu des nouvelles de ma famille. |
| I’ve received/I received news from my family. |
| Il a accepté un poste à l’université de Boston. |
| He has accepted/He accepted a position at the University of Boston. |
The above verbs are in the past tense which is called the Passé Composé. This tense is used when you want to express that the event in the past is completed—done and over with. The Passé Composé is formed by combining the Present tense of the helping verbs avoir or être with the Past Participle of the action verb.
The Past Participle of verbs ending in -er is formed with -é (e.g., parlé). That of verbs ending in –re is formed with –u (e.g., attendu). Many verbs ending in –ir have a Past Participle ending in –i (e.g., sorti). Below is a list of some of the –er, -re, and -ir verbs. Next to them you will find a corresponding Past Participle:
–er
| parler |
parlé |
| travailler |
travaille |
| chercher |
cherché |
| écouter |
écouté |
| regarder |
regardé |
| chanter |
chanté |
| manger |
mangé |
–re
| attendre |
attendu |
| vendre |
vendu |
| perdre |
perdu |
| répondre |
répondu |
–ir
| partir |
parti |
| sortir |
sorti |
| sentir |
senti |
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