passé composé or imparfait?

Question

Bonjour!
How best to translate this sentence please? : "Were you there before?" - Etais-tu là avant? (or) As-tu été là avant?
and the same sentence in the negative: "Weren't you there before?" - N'étais-tu pas là avant? (or) N'as-tu pas été là avant?
Thanks.
Cheryl

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Cheryl,
You need to use the imparfait here so, 'étais-tu là avant', or 'n'étais tu pas là avant' but I would probably avoid using the inversion as it doesn't roll off the tongue...
Just as a tip, was/were is usually translated by the imparfait to do with the nature of the verb. You will hear 'j'ai été' but in the sense 'je suis allé' ( I have been). 
Hope this helps!

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Hi Cheryl,
Yes indeed 'I didn't know' would be 'Je ne savais pas' as 'savoir' is another of those verbs which implies duration (you know something over a period of time) so you will find it mainly in the imparfait.
To go back to the inversion, I watched a French series yesterday and listened out for questions, not one of them used it!

Cheryl Nebauer · Answer

Merci Cécile! Would it be more usual to hear , or simply: (with a rising intonation in the voice)? - rather than the inversion? Kind Regards to you from Australia! Cheryl

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

I think the inversion always sounds a bit pompous in spoken French. You won't hear it used as often as you do in English.

Cheryl Nebauer · Answer

Thanks Cécile,
I didn't know that the inversion would sound pompous in French.
The word "didn't" that I just used in the sentence above, would that be translated into French using the imparfait, please? Probably the verb savoir (?) in the negative of course, in this sentence?
I find all these little things far trickier to "round up". Doing exercises at C1 is easier than A2 for that reason!
Cheryl

Cheryl Nebauer · Answer

Thank you so much Cécile for answering those questions for me!
Bonne journée,
Cheryl