Passé composé vs. imparfaitIf a sentence is initiated by a fixed duration, is it always necessary to use passé composé?
For example, if I want to say….
During the six days of the trial, the judge was sitting at the front of the room, the lights were low, and the courtroom was full.
I have a fixed duration…. which aligns with the use of passé composé. But I am giving a description of the situation, with all things occurring simultaneously, and the information does not progress the story…. which aligns with the use of imparfait.
For me, it makes more sense to use imparfait, but I have been told that the presence of the fixed duration at the start of the phrase mandates the use of PC.
The sentence as I would write it is as follows:
Durant les six jours d'audience, le juge était assis à l’avant de la salle, les lumières étaient sombres et la salle de Cour était pleine
Pourquoi les mots "jeudi et vendredi" sont-ils pluriels alors que les autres jours sont singuliers (le lundi, le mardi, le mercredi)? All of the activities seems to be habitual ones that occur on that day of the week -- even the ones on Thursdays and Friday
Hi Dear Kwiziq,
I am confused when it comes to translate the personal pronouns "you" into French.
As I know, in French, "you" refers to "vous" like "You all" or the formal "vous".
And French adjectives changes in function of the gender and number. In the translation below, my confusion are in red, would you mind telling me if my translation is correct?
You've just returned home from vacation — sun-kissed and blissed out — but the moment you open your inbox or spot the pile of mail that accumulated in your absence, you’re hit with a crippling sense of anxiety.
Vous revenez tout juste des vacances, bronzé et content, mais dès l'instant où vous ouvrez votre boîte de réception ou que vous apercevez le tas de courrier qui s’est accumulé en votre absence, vous êtes frappé par un sentiment d’anxiété paralysant.
According to the rule analysis, using en for feminine countries and a for masculine countries, why is the correct answer for the question "la?" Je vais visiter la France cet ete. Should the sentence not be Je vais visiter en France?
Why would we use « leur histoire » for « their stories »? It is confusing because some of your alternative phrases use « leurs histoires »and some use « leur histoire ». Is there a lesson on this?
If a sentence is initiated by a fixed duration, is it always necessary to use passé composé?
For example, if I want to say….
During the six days of the trial, the judge was sitting at the front of the room, the lights were low, and the courtroom was full.
I have a fixed duration…. which aligns with the use of passé composé. But I am giving a description of the situation, with all things occurring simultaneously, and the information does not progress the story…. which aligns with the use of imparfait.
For me, it makes more sense to use imparfait, but I have been told that the presence of the fixed duration at the start of the phrase mandates the use of PC.
The sentence as I would write it is as follows:
Durant les six jours d'audience, le juge était assis à l’avant de la salle, les lumières étaient sombres et la salle de Cour était pleine
Why is it "N'ayons" yet "ne sois pas" - i.e. one has the "pas" but the other doesn't?
If canadian in first example is an adjective, what is it in the second? Coz it seems also adjective to me.
Thanx.
Find your French level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your French level