PAST TENSE

INTRODUCTION:

                    The passé composé (compound past tense) is used to refer to an action or event that began and was completed at a particular moment of time in the past. Two elements are required to form thepassé composé: a helping verb (either avoir or être) and a past participle (usually the ‐ed form of an English verb).

The passé simple is a literary past tense, most often used in writing, and also refers to an action or event that was completed in the past. The passé anterieur,which is very limited in use, is the compound form of the passé simple. (The passé simple of the correct helping verb is followed by the past participle of the verb indicating the action.)

WHAT IS THE PAST TENSE?

                   The past tense is used to describe or indicate an action that began in the past. Depending on how we form the past tense, it might describe actions that happened or were completed in the past, were occurring at the same time as something else in the past, or continued to happen until or near the present time.

                         There are four forms of the past tense that can accomplish these tasks. We will give a brief summary of each below. To learn more about each of them, you can go to the appropriate section. st often used in writing, and also refers to an action or event that was completed in the past. The passé anterieur,which is very limited in use, is the compound form of the passé simple. (The passé simple of the correct helping verb is followed by the past participle of the verb indicating the action.)