Bonjour Madame Aurélie , a question which I would like you to answer -

Question

Une ville magique (Passé Composé vs Imparfait)

Bonjour Madame Aurélie !

Thanks for designing such a great worksheet on this topic.

But could you please help me with these sentences -

1. L’endroit qui m’a enchanté au dessus de tout, .........

2. Nous nous sommes proménes dans ses jardins merveilleux .......

In the first sentence , I used ‘imparfait’ as I interpreted it as a state of mind which the narrator was in of being mesmerized . Secondly, I had used ‘imparfait’ in the second sentence after reading your lesson that ‘l’imparfait’ is used for describing the scene , characters , setting of the phrase. Please provide the reasons why Kwizbot marked me incorrect .

Bonne journée !

( I would appreciate to be answered by Madame Aurélie )

Although someone else answered it before but was not satisfied with answer, I hope you would as a teacher spare some of your valuable time to help me slip out of my problem .

Merci d’avance !

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Varsha !Indeed, you use L'Imparfait to describe a scene, or characters.However, in these two cases, the verbs refer to actions, as follows:1. L’endroit qui m’a enchanté au dessus de tout, -> This place enchanted him at the time of his visit: it is therefore an action located, defined in a specific timeframe, i.e. the visit. If you said "L’endroit qui m’enchantait au dessus de tout,", it would refer to a habit or opinion in the past, i.e. "that used to enchant me...". 2. Nous nous sommes promenés dans ses jardins merveilleux-> Again here, the action took place in the past, and is considered as over with, hence Le Passé Composé : we did that then.If you said "Nous nous promenions dans ses jardins merveilleux", it would mean "We were walking...", i.e. considering the action in its progression, and possibly inviting a second action like for example "we were walking when something happened".See this related lesson: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/le-passe-compose-usage-on-its-own-or-with-l-imparfait
I hope that's helpful!Bonne journée !

Answer

Très excellente explication Madame Aurélie !!It is really helpful ! Merci beaucoup et bonne journée !