Avant et maintenant
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Form the imparfait for regular verbs and for common irregular verbs, including être.
- Use the imparfait to describe habitual past actions, ongoing background situations, and states such as age, time, and weather in the past.
- Distinguish, in context, when French requires the imparfait and when it requires the passé composé.
- Combine the imparfait and passé composé within the same narration.
- Use time expressions that signal habitual or background past time, such as autrefois and tous les jours.
- Ask and answer questions about how things used to be, compared with how they are now.
- Understand a short spoken or written account that mixes both past tenses.
- Write a short connected paragraph contrasting the past and the present.
- Apply accurate pronunciation of imparfait endings, recognizing that -ais, -ait, and -aient share the vowel sound /ɛ/ while their final written consonants are silent.
Communication Scenario
After his weekend in Tours, Marc calls his grandmother, Mireille, to thank her for the visit. She begins telling him what life was like in Tours when she was young — before television, before cars were common in her neighborhood, when she walked to school every day. Marc wants to understand how her daily life used to be, and how it compares with life now. This chapter continues Unit IV by giving you the tools to describe the past as it used to be, not just as a list of completed events.
- Describe what someone used to do regularly in the past.
- Describe the background situation, weather, age, or time surrounding a past event.
- Contrast a completed event with the ongoing situation around it.
- Compare life avant (before) and maintenant (now).
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's productive vocabulary consists of time expressions that signal habitual or background past time, plus a small set of verbs and nouns connected to daily life "before" and "now." Most surrounding vocabulary is recycled from Chapters 1–17.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| autrefois | in the past, in former times |
| à cette époque-là | at that time, in those days |
| quand j'étais jeune | when I was young |
| tous les jours | every day |
| chaque été | every summer |
| d'habitude | usually |
| souvent | often |
| de temps en temps | from time to time |
| French | Gender | English | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| le quartier | m. | the neighborhood | Recycled |
| la télévision | f. | television | New |
| la voiture | f. | the car | Recycled |
| l'école (f.) | f. | the school | Recycled |
| le voisin / la voisine | m./f. | the neighbor | Recycled |
| changer | — | to change | New |
Only la télévision and changer are newly introduced in this chapter; the remaining items were already active in earlier chapters and are recycled here. All other vocabulary, including the movement and reflexive verbs from Chapter 17, remains active and recyclable. No vocabulary domain beyond what is listed above is introduced as productive.
Pronunciation Focus
The written endings -ais, -ais, -ait, and -aient are all pronounced identically, as an open è sound followed by silence: je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait, and ils parlaient all end in the same sound. Do not pronounce the final -s, -t, or -ent.
The nous and vous forms use the endings -ions and -iez. After a consonant-ending stem, these endings normally contain an audible [j] glide: nous parlions, vous parliez. These forms therefore sound different from je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait, and ils parlaient. Listen for this contrast between the four identical-sounding singular and third-person-plural forms and the two distinct nous/vous forms.
Grammar: L'imparfait et le contraste avec le passé composé
Purpose: describe habitual past actions, ongoing background situations, and states surrounding past events, and choose correctly between the imparfait and the passé composé when narrating the past.
18.1 Forming the imparfait
To form the imparfait of nearly every French verb, take the nous-form of the present tense, drop the -ons ending, and add the imparfait endings. This works even for verbs that are irregular in the present tense.
- nous parlons → je parlais, tu parlais, il/elle/on parlait, nous parlions, vous parliez, ils/elles parlaient I used to speak / was speaking, you used to speak...
- nous faisons → je faisais, nous faisions I used to do / was doing, we used to do...
être is the one common exception: its imparfait stem is ét-, not derived from a nous-form ending in -ons. j'étais, tu étais, il/elle/on était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils/elles étaient.
The impersonal verb pleuvoir does not have an ordinary nous form. Learn its common imperfect form as a fixed pattern: il pleuvait.
Some spelling changes preserve pronunciation in the imparfait. With manger, forms before a keep the written e: je mangeais, tu mangeais, il mangeait, ils mangeaient. The nous and vous forms are nous mangions and vous mangiez. With commencer, forms before a use ç: je commençais, tu commençais, il commençait, ils commençaient. The nous and vous forms are nous commencions and vous commenciez.
18.2 What the imparfait communicates
The imparfait does not tell the listener that a situation ended; it simply describes what was true or what used to happen, without focusing on completion.
18.3 Imparfait versus passé composé
The passé composé, which you learned in Chapters 16 and 17, presents an action as a completed event: something happened, and the narration moves forward. The imparfait presents the surrounding situation: what was going on, what things were like, or what used to happen regularly. The choice depends on how the speaker frames the situation, not on how long it actually lasted.
- Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti. It was raining when I went out. pleuvait [background, ongoing] + suis sorti [completed event]
- D'habitude, je me levais à sept heures, mais ce jour-là, je me suis levé à six heures. Usually, I used to get up at seven, but that day, I got up at six. me levais [habitual] vs. me suis levé [one specific completed action]
| Function | Tense used | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A single completed action | passé composé | Je suis arrivé à huit heures. |
| A habitual, repeated past action | imparfait | J'arrivais toujours à huit heures. |
| Background description surrounding an event | imparfait | Il faisait beau ce jour-là. |
| Age, time, or ongoing state in the past | imparfait | J'avais dix ans. Il était midi. |
| An event that interrupts a background situation | passé composé within an imparfait background | Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné. |
This chapter treats the contrast through discourse examples rather than a single "completed versus incomplete" slogan. Both tenses can describe events of any actual duration; what matters is how the speaker frames the situation.
18.4 Combining both tenses in a narration
This chapter covers only this introductory contrast. A comprehensive discourse-level treatment of aspect and narrative perspective is developed further at higher levels.
Model Dialogue: Quand j'avais ton âge...
Context: Marc calls his grandmother, Mireille, after his weekend in Tours, and she talks about her childhood there.
Notice how Mireille uses the imparfait for habits and description (j'allais, il y avait, il pleuvait) but switches to the passé composé for single completed events (a acheté, je suis restée).
Listening Practice
Listen once or twice before revealing the script. Use an audio recording, text-to-speech tool, instructor, or partner to read the passage aloud. Answer the questions from listening alone, then reveal the script to check your work.
- How did Mireille use to get to school, and why?
- What did the neighborhood use to do together on Sundays?
- What happened the day Mireille's father bought a television?
- What did Mireille do on the rainy Saturday, and why?
Reveal script after listening
Speaking Practice
Pratique contrôlée — Controlled practice: imparfait or passé composé?
Read each complete sentence frame. Choose either the imparfait or the passé composé, produce the correct verb form, and briefly explain what in the context supports your choice.
- Quand j'étais jeune, chaque samedi, je ______ chez ma grand-mère. (aller)
- Il ______ quand le téléphone a sonné. (pleuvoir)
- Nous ______ dans le quartier quand nous avons vu Mireille. (se promener)
- Un jour, mon père ______ une télévision. (acheter)
- D'habitude, les enfants ______ dans la rue après l'école. (jouer)
Tâche communicative — Communicative task: avant et maintenant
With a partner, ask and answer Comment était ta vie quand tu avais dix ans ? and Qu'est-ce qui a changé ? Describe at least three habitual past actions with the imparfait and at least one completed change with the passé composé.
Pratique individuelle — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing what your daily life used to be like at an earlier age, then describe one specific event from that time that stands out. Use at least three imparfait verbs and one passé composé verb.
Reading Practice
Le quartier de Mamie — Grandma's neighborhood
Quand Mireille était petite, sa famille habitait dans un petit quartier près du centre-ville de Tours. Il n'y avait pas beaucoup de voitures, et les enfants jouaient souvent dans la rue après l'école. Mireille se levait tôt tous les matins, et elle marchait jusqu'à l'école avec ses deux frères. D'habitude, le week-end, toute la famille se promenait au bord de la Loire. Un dimanche, pourtant, il a beaucoup plu, et personne n'est sorti. Mireille se souvient encore de ce jour-là, parce que sa mère a préparé un grand déjeuner, et toute la famille est restée à table pendant des heures à raconter des histoires.
Tâche de lecture — Reading task:
- What did children often do in Mireille's neighborhood after school?
- What did the family usually do on weekends?
- What was different about the one Sunday described in the passage?
- Why does Mireille still remember that particular day?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order.
Tâche 1 — Tense selection and formation: Complete the following five sentences using the correct form of the verb in either the imparfait or the passé composé, according to the context.
- Quand Mireille était petite, elle ______ à l'école à pied tous les jours. (aller)
- Le quartier ______ très calme à cette époque-là. (être)
- Il ______ quand le téléphone a sonné. (pleuvoir)
- Nous ______ dans le centre-ville quand Marc est entré dans son ancien lycée. (se promener)
- Un jour, le père de Mireille ______ une télévision. (acheter)
Tâche 2 — Connected paragraph: Write six to eight sentences comparing how something used to be with how it is now. Include at least three imparfait forms describing the past, at least one present-tense comparison, and one specific completed event in the passé composé that caused, marked, or illustrates a change. Include at least one habitual or background time expression such as autrefois, d'habitude, or quand j'étais jeune.
- Choose your subject. Pick a real or imagined situation involving a past habit or background, a present-day comparison, and a specific change.
- Plan your viewpoints. Decide which ideas present past habits or background, which sentence compares the situation with the present, and which event should be foregrounded as a completed change.
- Draft your paragraph. Use the imparfait to present past habits or background, the present tense to show how things are now, and the passé composé to present one foregrounded completed event.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for the shared /ɛ/ vowel in -ais, -ait, and -aient without pronouncing their final consonant letters, and pronounce -ions and -iez clearly.
- Revise. Confirm that each tense matches the intended viewpoint and context. In the controlled patterns practiced here, habitual and background ideas normally use the imparfait, the current comparison uses the present tense, and a foregrounded completed event normally uses the passé composé.
Liste de révision — Editing checklist:
- The paragraph contains at least three accurately formed imparfait verbs.
- The paragraph contains at least one clear present-tense comparison.
- The paragraph contains at least one foregrounded completed event in the passé composé.
- Tense choices match the intended viewpoint and context.
- Past habits, descriptions, age, time, weather, and background are presented with the imparfait in the controlled patterns practiced here.
- The specific change or completed event is presented with the passé composé.
- être in the imparfait uses the stem ét-.
- pleuvoir, if used, appears as il pleuvait.
- Forms of manger and commencer, if used, preserve the required spelling.
- At least one habitual or background time expression appears.
- Accents, apostrophes, and punctuation are accurate.
- No vocabulary or grammar outside Chapters 1–18 is required.
Culture and Communication
Asking grandparents or older relatives about how life used to be is a common and valued way to practice narrating the past in French, and it also builds real family connection. Life details vary enormously by region, generation, and family, so avoid assuming that any single grandparent's account, including Mireille's, represents every French family's experience of the twentieth century.
The imparfait and the passé composé are used widely across the Francophone world in everyday narration. Usage, frequency, and informal storytelling patterns can vary by region and register, while the standard contrast taught here remains the productive model for this level. Additional literary past tenses, including the passé simple, remain outside the scope of this chapter.
Common Mistakes
Error: Writing tous les jours, j'ai marché à l'école to describe a repeated childhood habit.
Correction: In the controlled contrast practiced here, a repeated past habit normally takes the imparfait: tous les jours, je marchais à l'école.
Error: Writing j'étions or another form based on a regular pattern.
Correction: être has the irregular stem ét-: j'étais, nous étions, ils étaient.
Error: Writing hier, j'allais au cinéma to describe one specific outing yesterday.
Correction: In the controlled narrative pattern practiced here, a foregrounded completed event normally takes the passé composé: hier, je suis allé au cinéma.
Chapter Review
Partie A — Compréhension (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- How did Mireille use to get to school when she was young?
- What happened the day Mireille's father bought a television?
Partie B — Écriture (Writing)
1. Give the correct form: Quand j'étais petit, je ______ (jouer) dans le jardin tous les jours.
2. Choose the correct tense: Il ______ (pleuvoir) quand nous ______ (sortir).
Partie C — Lecture (Reading)
1. Return to "Le quartier de Mamie," and list two imparfait verbs and one passé composé verb from the passage.
Partie D — Oral (Speaking)
1. With a partner, ask and answer three questions comparing how something used to be with how it is now. Across your exchange, use at least three imparfait forms, one present-tense comparison, and one passé composé form describing a specific change or completed event.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 18 Practical Check — Comparing Then and Now
Avant et maintenant — Then and Now
Complete the following connected tasks, in order.
- Read the model dialogue and the reading passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Have a short conversation. Ask and answer questions comparing how something used to be with how it is now. Across the exchange, use at least three imparfait forms, one present-tense comparison, and one passé composé form describing a specific change or event.
- Complete Writing Workshop Task 1. Confirm that each tense choice and verb form matches the supplied context.
- Write your six-to-eight-sentence paragraph (Writing Workshop Task 2). Include at least three imparfait forms, one present-tense comparison, and one passé composé event, and apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Produce the shared /ɛ/ vowel in -ais, -ait, and -aient without pronouncing their final consonant letters, and pronounce -ions and -iez clearly.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Imparfait formation | The learner correctly forms the imparfait, including the irregular ét- stem and the fixed form il pleuvait when used. |
| Passé composé formation | The learner correctly forms the required foregrounded completed event, including auxiliary choice and agreement where applicable. |
| Present-versus-past comparison | The learner includes a clear present-tense comparison showing how the situation is different now. |
| Tense selection and viewpoint | The learner selects the imparfait, present tense, or passé composé according to the intended viewpoint and supplied context. |
| Combined narration | The learner connects past background, present comparison, and one completed event coherently. |
| Time expressions | The learner correctly uses at least one habitual or background past-time expression. |
| Oral intelligibility | The learner pronounces imparfait forms intelligibly, does not pronounce the final consonant letters of -ais, -ait, or -aient, and produces -ions and -iez clearly. |
| Task completeness | The conversation and paragraph contain at least three imparfait forms, one present-tense comparison, one passé composé event, and language within Chapters 1–18. |
This chapter introduces the imparfait and its basic contrast with the passé composé at an introductory level. Comprehensive discourse-level narrative technique and additional literary past tenses are not assessed here; narrative sequencing and system consolidation are developed further in Chapter 19.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- She used to walk to school every day, even when it was cold, because the family did not have a car.
- Her father bought a television, and the whole neighborhood came to watch it at their house.
Writing Workshop — Task 1
- allait
- était
- pleuvait
- nous promenions
- a acheté
Chapter Review — Part B
- jouais
- pleuvait ... sommes sortis
Chapter Review — Part C: Reading
Acceptable imparfait forms from "Le quartier de Mamie" include était, habitait, il n'y avait pas, jouaient, se levait, marchait, and se promenait. Acceptable passé composé forms include a beaucoup plu, n'est sorti, a préparé, and est restée. Any two appropriate imparfait forms and one appropriate passé composé form are acceptable.
Chapter Review — Part D: Speaking
Answers will vary. A successful exchange contains three comprehensible questions and answers, at least three accurately formed imparfait verbs, one clear present-tense comparison, one appropriate passé composé event, and language within Chapters 1–18.
Listening
- She walked, because the family did not have a car.
- They used to walk together after lunch on Sundays.
- The whole neighborhood came to watch it at their house.
- She stayed home to read a book, because it was raining a lot.
Reading
- They often played in the street after school.
- The whole family used to walk along the Loire.
- It rained a lot, and no one went out.
- Her mother made a big lunch, and the whole family stayed at the table for hours telling stories.
Looking Ahead
Ce que vous savez déjà faire — What you can do now
You can describe how things used to be, contrast habitual and background past situations with single completed events, and combine the imparfait and the passé composé in a short narration.