Historic past -dre verbs

Question

Hi. My test offered no clue that the test-sentence was being used in a literary or other written context. I could have been saying to a friend that…. yesterday ‘I lost my balance’ and fell down….. As opposed to ‘I lost my balance’ (my equilibrium), which has a figurative meaning, and therefore could well be used in that literary sense. If a verb is being used figuratively and not literally, is it always in the historic past,?? What is the difference between ‘J’ai perdu mon cle hier’ and ‘Je perdis mon equilibre’… etc Thanks, Kathy

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Kathy, 
I think you are over complicating what was asked of you. 
The lesson was about recognising regular -dre verbs in the historic past ( in this case 'perdre' ) and to chose how it would be translated.
The possibilities offered to you are:
A past tense - I lost my balance 
Two present tenses - I'm losing my balance / I lose my balance
One future - I will lose my balance
Only one answer is possible: the past tense.
If you want more info on how to use the Historic past, take a look at the following lesson -
French Historic Past
I hope it helps!