For the translation of "he revealed to me what happened in France", the correct answer was: Il m'a révélé ce qui s'était passait en France.

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

For the translation of "he revealed to me what happened in France", the correct answer was: Il m'a révélé ce qui s'était passait en France.

I had the two mixed around, using p.c. on "what happened in France" and the imparfait for he revealed to me". Please explain the rational for the tenses. To me he revealed to me is continuing actiona and what happened in France is over and done with.
Asked 6 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Ann,

"Il m'a révélé ce qui se passait in France"(imperfect) would be -

He revealed to me what was happening in France.

"Il m'a révélé ce qui s'était passé in France",  (pluperfect) would be -

He revealed to me what had happened in France.

Hope this helps!

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Ann,

Il m'a revelé ce qui se passait en France. -- He told me what was happened in France.

This sentence is actually reported speech. Say, your friend Mike tells you what is happening right now in France. A week later you are talking with your colleague Marie and tell her what Mike told you. Then you would say it in reported speech. And in reported speech, tenses get used in a specific way. Whetever Mike told you in present tense, you need to report to Marie in imperfect tense. For example:

Anne tells Julie, "I am tired." Then, a week later, Julie tells her other friend Muriel that Julie told her she was tired. This is how you would say it in French:

Anne : "Je suis fatiguée" (This is direct speech).
Anne m'a dit qu'elle était fatiguée. (This is reported speech).

If you look closely, reported speech in English isn't that different:

Anne: "I am tired."
Anne told me that she was very tired.

I don't think, reported speech has been covered yet in the lessons.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Sorry, a typo in my previous post. It should read:

Il m'a revelé ce qui se passait en France. -- He told me what happened in France.

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Actually it's the pluperfect, not the imperfect. 

he revealed to me what had happened in France...

il m'a révélé ce qui s'était passé en France…

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thanks for the corrections. I inadvertantly said imparfait when meaning plus-que-parfait, but Chris had the crux of my problem in hand. That explanation was what I needed. Thanks especially, Chris!
Ann H. asked:

For the translation of "he revealed to me what happened in France", the correct answer was: Il m'a révélé ce qui s'était passait en France.

I had the two mixed around, using p.c. on "what happened in France" and the imparfait for he revealed to me". Please explain the rational for the tenses. To me he revealed to me is continuing actiona and what happened in France is over and done with.

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