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How do I remember the difference between the perfect and imperfect tenses?

A way of remembering the difference is to think that the word 'perfect' comes from the Latin 'perfectus' meaning ' completed ' while 'imperfect' will therefore mean not yet completed or on-going . The perfec...
LG
Answered by Lily G. • French tutor
18565 Views

How can I remember when to use 'être' in the perfect tense?

Etre is the auxiliary that is usually used with verbs that mean ' coming ' or ' going ' in French, as opposed to avoir . You can use the ' DR MRS VANDERTRAMP ' acronym to help you remember: D evenir (to beco...
EH
Answered by Elizabeth H. • French tutor
4116 Views

When should I use the imperfect tense, and when the perfect tense?

The imperfect is used for: - description in the past (eg the door was red - la porte était rouge) - things that you used to do many times in the past (eg I used to go swimming - je nageais ) - interrupted ac...
SW
Answered by Sally W. • French tutor
3455 Views

How can I make the difference between the 'passé simple' and the 'imparfait'

The 'passé simple' is a tense for a past, finished action whereas, the 'imparfait' is used to describe an action in the past, longer and maybe unfinished. Passé simple is a precise moment whereas Imparfait i...
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Answered by Florence B. • French tutor
7171 Views

What is the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun, often to avoid repetition. If we are replacing the object of a sentence with a pronoun, we will be using either the direct object pronoun (DOP) or indirec...
NB
Answered by Nic B. • French tutor
15247 Views