a été réveillé vs était réveillé

Question

In filling in the blank for Bob __ par la reveil tous les jours (Bob was awaken by the alarm every day), I typed "a été réveillé par" instead of "était réveillé". Could you help me understand why the imparfait was incorrect? Thanks!
Greg

Accepted Answer

Hi Gregory,
The tense you used in 'a été réveillé ' is the perfect tense ( passé composé).
The imparfait 'était réveillé' is correct as the action is repetitive.
e.g.
J'ai été réveillé par les éboueurs dans la nuit = I was woken up/awaken by the rubbish collectors last night (One action in the past done and dusted.)
compared with - 
John était réveillé par les éboueurs toutes les nuits = John was woken up/awaken  by the dustmen every night  (Repetitive action which happened every night.)
Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi Gregory,
Actually, the imperfect is correct and you answered in the passé composé.
Bob a été réveillé... -- a été is passé composé of êtreBob était révaillé... -- était is imperfect of être
You need the imperfect in this sentence because the action is repeated over a longer period (...was awaken every day...)
-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Answer

Hi Chris, As the verb 'to wake up' is se réveiller why is it not 'Bob s'était réveillé ....John

Answer

Hi John,

Because se reveiller is a reflexive verb meaning that I carried the action out on myself. In other words, I am both the subject and the object. However, in Bob's example, Bob, the subject, is woken up by "the alarm", the object. So it is no longer a reflexive verb. I hope this helps.

Answer

“a été réveillé” is actually correct because the time frame has been specified. This overrules the “repetitive action” rule. Mary