Unit 2 · 5 lessons
Le passé: Telling Stories in the Past
Tell stories in the past with precision: past-participle agreement, a step-by-step method for choosing the imparfait or the passé composé, the plus-que-parfait for the past before the past, every kind of pronominal verb, and the structure of a biography or autobiography.
- 58 practice questions
- 45 flashcards
- 2 interactive lessons
Lessons
- 1The Passé Composé and Past-Participle AgreementA quick recap of how the passé composé is built with avoir or être, then the Grade 10 layer: more irregular past participles, verbs that switch auxiliaries, and the rule that makes a participle agree with a direct object placed before avoir.Interactive11 questions
- 2Imparfait or Passé Composé?A recap of how the imparfait is formed, then a five-question procedure that decides between the imparfait and the passé composé for any verb in a story — including habits, interruptions, measured lengths of time, and verbs like savoir, connaître and avoir peur that change meaning between the two tenses.Interactive12 questions
- 3The Plus-que-parfait: The Past Before the PastThe plus-que-parfait (j'avais fini, elle était partie) places one past action before another. It is built like the passé composé with the auxiliary in the imparfait, keeps the same agreement rules, and is required in French in many places where English quietly drops the word had.11 questions
- 4Reflexive, Reciprocal and Passive Pronominal VerbsA recap of reflexive verbs in the present, then the four kinds of pronominal verbs (reflexive, reciprocal, idiomatic and passive), and a three-step procedure for past-participle agreement that explains why ils se sont vus agrees but ils se sont parlé does not.12 questions
- 5Telling a Life Story: Biography and AutobiographyPut every past tense of the unit to work in a full life story: the structure of a biography or autobiography, the tense each part relies on, dates and time expressions (en, depuis, pendant, il y a), linking with après avoir and avant de, and recognising the passé simple in published biographies.12 questions