French Language > Verbs

To & Fro Twixt English & French Past Tenses
What Each Tense in One Language Can Be in the Other

I. French Past Tenses & Possible English Equivalents

French		English
J’ai parlé Passé composé		“I spoke” Simple past
		“I have spoken” Present Perfect

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Je parlais Imparfait		“I spoke” Simple past
		“I was speaking” Past progressive
		“I would speak” “I used to speak” Habitual verb phrases

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II. English Past Tenses & Possible French Equivalents

English		French
“I spoke” Simple past		Je parlai Passé simple
		J’ai parlé Passé composé
		Je parlais Imparfait

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“I have spoken” Present Perfect

J’ai parlé Passé composé

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“I was speaking” Past progressive

Je parlais Imparfait

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“I would speak” 1. as Habitual verb phrase 2. as Conditional		Je parlais Imparfait
		Je parlerais Conditionnel

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“I used to speak” Habitual verb phrase

Je parlais Imparfait

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