I’m having difficulty with the sentence "Leurs témoignages ________ louches à la police.
(Their testimonies sounded dodgy to the police)Why isn’t the verb in l’imparfait rather than PC? It seems to me that the testimonies weren’t suddenly dodgy, it was something that continued
Hi Anne,
The fact that the testimonies sounded dodgy is a completed situation is it not?
Once they are deemed dodgy, that's it. The police would then need to interrogate what was said in order to satisfy themselves about the credibility.
This how I see it -- hope it helps.
Jim
Bonjour Anne,
Jim is correct: it is a completed action. Therefore, Le Passé Composé is to be used in this instance.
Passé Composé / one-time action and completed action:
J'ai témoigné = I testified (the action is completed)
Son comportement a paru étrange = his behaviour seemed strange (it isn't now)
Il a paru absent pendant la réunion = He seemed faraway during the meeting (the action is completed)
In this context, L'Imparfait would imply that you are describing actions that were happening in the past. See link below: L'Imparfait: Tense / Mood
Je témoignais = I testified
Son comportement paraissait étrange = His behaviour seemed strange
Il paraissait absent pendant la réunion = he seemed faraway pendant la réunion
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
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