Describing and expressing opinions in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense)

Hi Elaine,

The verb 'se tenir debout' , is 'to be standing', or 'to stand ( up)' so in the past tense it will be stood or was standing....

Bonjour Don !

Thanks to you, this audio file has now been fixed :)

Merci beaucoup et à bientôt !

The answer is "it depends".

We need to see the complete context to work out whether it is more appropriate to use the imparfait or PC.

If this was a sentence in a story where you were talking about something you habitually did every day (i.e., getting off the train), then the imperfect is appropriate.

If you are describing a specific one-off event (the main story line) then PC would be better.

Generally speaking, imparfait sets the scene, and PC describes the action.

I'm a non-native speaker and PC v imparfait is a continual battle I'm afraid!

Bonjour Michelle !

You're not the first one to wonder about these two cases :)Here's my answer as posted in the Q&A :"The first case is a case of reported speech in the past, where you need to use L'Imparfait in the second half:

"Elle a dit qu'elle nous pardonnait."

The second case is a past, defined statement/action that "after that", they never forgot, hence Le Passé Composé.Here "nous n'oubliions jamais" would imply more of a habit, or a personality trait = "we never used to forget".

I hope that's helpful!Bonne journée !"

I'm glad I wasn't the only one, but sorry for asking what has already been asked. 

 If I were to say simply "She pardoned us" without "She said that..." Would it change to passé composé or still be Imperfect? 

The second one...it's harder to wrap my head around it. If it had been "We forgot" I would have used the Passé Composé. Am I right to assume that, that in those cases the negation is treated the same way as the positive form? If you say "Nous avons oublié" if there wasn't a negation you'd automatically say "Nous n'avons oublié" when it's put in the negative? Does this make any sense or am I WAY off? 

It would really be great if there were lessons on reported speach on kwiziq. I do believe this topic has been neglected in the past. It often comes up in everday situations and when reading, e.g., newspapers.

If I can just add - I believe a Reported Speech lesson is on the to-do list .

Just a little summary to help out here:

Look at the following dialogue between three people, one hard of hearing- 

Annie : "Je suis allée en vacances au bord de la mer et quand j'étais là-bas , j'ai décidée que j'y retournerai tous les ans car le bord de mer me fait énormément de bien. Est-ce que vous aimeriez venir avec moi l'année prochaine ? 

Grand-mére ( un peu sourde)  : Qu'est ce qu'elle a dit ? 

Josyane : Annie a dit qu'elle était allée en vacances au bord de la mer et  que, quand elle était là-bas, elle avait décidée qu'elle y retournerait tous les ans car le bord de mer lui faisait énormément de bien et elle a demandé si on aimerait aller avec elle l'année prochaine .

Hope this helps!

I just realized that I asked a very stupid question. You said in the SECOND part, duh. I'd really appreciate a lesson on Reported speech, hopefully before my subscription runs out. For now, I'll take notes on this, try to practice it offline and hope that it becomes a little clearer as I hopefully encounter it in my reading and listening. I don't read newspapers or watch the news, unfortunately. I'd love to be able to see it in lessons and fill in exercises as that really really helps. Especially since I am able to ask and receive great answers when I really don't understand why I made a mistake. No textbook can do that and while a teacher can, the cost in considerably higher than a subscription. 

Most of this is very similar to English (Future becomes Conditional, Present becomes Past). But I have to wrap my mind around the Plus-que-parfait usage too, as in English, I'd honestly use the simple past (She went, she decided) here. It would probably be more correct to use the Past Perfect, but most or at least many, English speakers do not in conversation with reported speech. Of course, French is not English. 

It is very tricky I do agree.

L'endroit qui m'a enchanté ..... expresses that at the time, you were delighted / awed by that chateau. You may retain fond memories of that experience but the emotion / feeling of that sight was at that short instant. This why the perfect tense is appropriate.

In the case of vouloir this verb is almost always, in my understanding: in the imparfait as a verb expressing a mental state. The desire / wanting is not short lived but an ongoing state of mind.

Hope that helps.

Alan

First, sorry for the confusion.  I'm always mixing up, "to reside" (habiter) and, "to get dressed" (se habiller) which couldn't have helped my sentence above at all!  (Once upon a time, a king dressed his castle. :)

Second, I *thought* that I had used, "vivait", and the question had corrected me with, "avait vécu", but I have come across the question on another quiz and see that I was wrong about that.

Merci !

Ok, that makes more sense :)

Thanks for your reply !

Bonne journée !

Bonjour Joakim,

In French, you will use the same verb to express "to be bored" and "to get bored": s'ennuyer.

In the past tense you will be using either L'Imparfait or Le Passé Composé, to express slightly different nuances, as follows:
- Je me suis ennuyé  means "I was/got bored" at the time, but this action/state is finished, over now.

- Je m'ennuyais expresses more a state in progress, like "I was being/getting bored", or a habit, a repetitive action like "I used to be bored".

I hope that's helpful.