In fill in the blank test 'Anniversaire de mariage' sentence 'Les invités sont arrivés vers dix-neuf-heures, et tout le monde a adoré les décorations'

Question

I wonder why Le Passé Composé is used as 'adorer' is a state of mind.

I try to modify the sentence: 'Les invités sont arrivés vers dix-neuf-heures, et tout le monde a adoré les décorations et était heureux '. Is l'imparfait used correctly?

Answer

The situation this sentence describes is the guests arrived and admired the decorations. It is portrayed as two point events in the past, one following the other. You could say:

J'admirais les décorations quand les invités sont arrivés. -- I was admiring the decorations when the guests arrived. Here it is one background action (me admiring) and one point event (the guests arriving) which happens while I do the admiring.