French Verbs and their Favorite Past Tenses
Predilections of Classes of French Verbs
Tips for deciding between the imparfait and the passé composé in French, and in particular classes of verbs that tend to be in the one rather than the other.
Devoir
A Semi-Auxiliary Without Peer
The verb devoir in all its many forms and meanings: as a verb in its own right, but especially as a semi-auxiliary, in which capacity it performs an astonishing number of functions.
To & Fro Twixt English & French Past Tenses
What Each Tense in One Language Can Be in the Other
A table showing what a French past tense can be in English and what an English past tense can be in French.
Aspects of French Past Tenses
On the great divide between the perfective (passé composé, passé simple) and the imperfective (imparfait) in French.
Aux Champs-Élysées
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez / Aux Champs-Elysées
The signature song (from 1969) of Joe Dassin. One of the positive remote effects of Hollywood blacklisting.
