Chapter VI: Appendix: II

_THE PAST TENSES IN FRENCH_.

The English praeterite being the equivalent of three tenses in French, it is of the utmost importance that a clear idea of the shades of meaning conveyed by the latter should be firmly possessed.

i.

_WHENEVER REPETITION OF THE ACTION IS IMPLIED_ the IMPARFAIT is used.

The force, in English, is "used to . . .," "kept . . . -ing," etc.

E.g., Esth. l. 6: _m'aidais à soupirer_ . . . "wast wont to sigh with me."

l. 83: . . . _disais-je_, . . . = "I would say"

ii.

_WHEN NO REPETITION OF THE ACTION IS IMPLIED_.

A. IF THE ACTION IS CONSIDERED AS BEING SIMPLY IN PROGRESS, WITHOUT REFERENCE EITHER TO ITS BEGINNING OR TO ITS END, again the IMPARFAIT is used.

The force, in English, is "was . . . -ing."

E.g., l. 12: _je vivais séparée_ = "I was living apart."

l. 58: . . . _attendaient leur arrêt_ = "were awaiting their doom."

B. IF THE ACTION IS STATED WITH REFERENCE EITHER TO ITS BEGINNING, OR TO ITS END, OR TO BOTH, the PASSÉ DÉFINI is used.

Thus _a. Simple occurrence_, which is the introduction of a new action now beginning to take place, takes the _passé défini_.

E.g., l. 19: . . . _ajouta-t-il_, . . . = "he [then] added."

l. 26: . . . _qui sauva nos aïeux_ = "which [once before] saved our forefathers."

l. 494.: _il trembla pour sa vie_ = "he began to tremble for his life."

_b. Continuous duration through a completed period of time_ which may be expressed or implied, takes the _passé défini_.

E.g., l. 4: . . . _fus de mes premiers ans la compagne assidue_ = "wast the constant companion of my earliest years."

l. 272: . . . _qui ne furent jamais_ = "who never [in all time] had existence."

l. 477: . . . _il fut des Juifs_ = "there was once [but is no more] a race of Jews."

NOTE that the action may be stated as recurring a given or indefinite number of times, and yet the verb will not be in the imperfect.

E.g., l. 249: _Mon pere mille fois m'a dit_ . . .

l. 531: _Et j'ai pâli deux fois_. . . .

If the imperfect were used here, the meaning would be "My father used to tell me a thousand times," i.e., he told me 1000 X n times, and in the second sentence, "I grew pale 2 X n times."

The student is recommended to account to himself carefully for the different tenses used in contrast to one another in the following passages:

ll. 4 and 6; 72 and 73; 1058 sqq. and 1073; 1074 to 1082.

PASSÉ INDÉFINI.

With regard to the third tense, the PASSÉ INDÉFINI, there is no difficulty. It is used:

_A_. Precisely like the English compound of the past.

E.g., l. 30: _le ciel a-t-il conduit_ . . . = "has heaven brought about. . ."

l. 158: _a . . . conduit vos pas_ = "has guided your footsteps."

_B_. As a colloquial form of the passe defini in all its uses.

E.g., l. 24: _j'ai su trouver_ = "I succeeded in finding."

l. 399: . . . _que j'ai laissé plus calme_ = "whom I left . . ."