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Le temps du passé

Forms of main tenses
1. Imperfect: je donnais
  1. Usage
    1. to express a continuous process: Il ronflait si violemment qu'il a réveiilé toute la famille.
    2. to refer to an on-going state: Elle avait faim et ses vêtements étaient déchirés et trempés
    3. to describe inherent characteristics: Il avait peu de cheveux
    4. to indicate a habitual action: Elle se levait à sept heures (every day)
  2. Form
    1. Endings
      1. -ais -ais -ait -ions -iez -aient
    2. Difficulty
      1. Verbs in -IER in the nous and vous forms, as in
        Nous étudiions/ pliions
        Vous étudiiez/ pliiez
      2. Verbs whose stem ends in -y, as in:
        Nous croyions/ payions
        Vous croyiez/ payiez
      3. Particular forms
        Nous (EMPLOYER) Nous employions
        Ils (MÉNAGER) Ils ménageaient
        Vous (SCIER) Vous sciiez
        Elle (AGACER) Elle agaçait
2. Passé simple: je donnai
  1. Forms
    1. Regular forms
      1. -ER
        -ai -as -âmes -âtes -èrent
      2. -IR
        -is -is -it -îmes -îtes -irent
      3. -RE + some irregulars (like être)
        -us -us -ut -ûmes -ûtes -urent
    2. Irregular forms
      1. ÊTRE - je fus AVOIR - j'eus FAIRE - je fis PLEUVOIR - il plut PUVOIR - je pus DEVOIR je dus FALLOIR il fallut SAVOIR - je sus
  2. Usage
    1. The past historic is rarely used in speech, though it does appear in more formal styles (lectures and sermons)
    2. In written French, the past historic is found in literary writings, texts describing historical events, (sometimes in newspapers) and in general in any piece of formal writing.
    3. The past historic typically indicates a completed action set apart from the moment of speaking. It is common in narrative where a succession of actions is being reported.
3. Passé composé: j'ai donné
4. Plus-que-parfait: j'avais donné
  1. Usage
    1. The French pluperfect corresponds with 'I had seen'. It serves to indicate an action or event which precedes in time some other past action or event: Quand il avait parlé, un profond silence est tombé dans la salle.
5. Passé antérieur: j'eus donné
  1. Usage
    1. The past anterior is only found in texts where the past historic is used. Also, as it is confined to very special contexts, it is not frequently found.
    2. Its main use is in clauses of TIME introduced by the conjunctions 'quand', 'lorsque', 'aussitôt que', 'dès que', 'après que' and 'à peine...que': Dès que Jean fut parti, tout le monde se mit à rire.
  2. The past anterior has the same value as a pluperfect. It is only possible to use the past anterior in this conext-type when the main verb is in the past historic, as in 'se mit' and 'donnèrent.
6. Futur antérieur: j'aurai donné
7. Conditionnel Passé: j'aurais donné

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Le temps du passé

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