How do I decide when to use the past and when to use the imperfect tense?!
Read in your textbook, Chapter 3, and do any of the practice exercises below.
About.com has a good explanation, uses of each, and a practice exercise for comprehension here.
Review from www.betterlearnfrench.com:
To review the past tense, read about the passé composé with avoir, and the passé composé with être.
To review the formation and more info on the imperfect, read about l’imparfait here.
This chart contains examples of words/phrases that give you cues as to which tense will be used.
Adverbs used with the imperfect Adverbs used with the past tense
| tous les jours, tous les matins … every day, every morning |
un jour, un matin, un soir … one day, one morning, one evening |
| chaque jour, chaque matin, chaque mois ... each day, each morning, each month |
soudain, brusquement, brutalement … suddenly, abruptly, brusquely |
| en général, généralement, d’habitude… in general, usually |
tout d’un coup, tout à coup … all of a sudden, suddenly |
| autrefois, à l’époque … in the past, long ago, at the time |
tout de suite, immédiatement … right away, immediately |
| toujours, souvent … always, often |
d’abord, enfin … first of all, finally |
| rarement … rarely |
puis, ensuite … then, next |
As always, if you have any further questions, feel free to call or email your teacher.