I cannot see the difference between the "imperfect tense" and "avoir l'habitude"
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stephen w.Kwiziq community member
I cannot see the difference between the "imperfect tense" and "avoir l'habitude"
eg. [ J'avais l'habitude d'appartenir appartenir ] and [ j'appartenais ]
This question relates to:French lesson "Expressing past habits or repeated actions with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)"
Asked 6 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Stephen !
The difference is one of emphasis.
L'Imparfait can carry the notion of something that *used to* happen, as opposed to Le Passé Composé, but "avoir l'habitude de" (literally "to have the habit of") insists on the notion of a repeated action in the past, something that happened as a habit.
In the example you used, saying "J'avais l'habitude d'appartenir" sounds really weird, because "avoir l'habitude" you wouldn't really "belong" repeatedly, as a habit :)
Here you will use L'Imparfait : J'appartenais, as it's more of an action that used to *be* in the past.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
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