B1Unit 1 of the B1 course · « Raconter une histoire »
Passé composé or imparfait? Telling a story in French
Every story in French mixes two past tenses: the imparfait sets the scene, the passé composé moves the action. This page shows how they work together, with the words that hold a story together.
By the end of this unit you can: mix passé composé and imparfait in a story.
1D'abord, ensuite, enfin: Put the events of a story in order.
2Le décor et l'action: Set the scene of a story and drop the events into it.
3Le plus-que-parfait: Go one step further back: say what had already happened.
4Figure-toi que…: Tell an anecdote with some drama, and react to someone else's.
5Le passeport de Sofia: Follow a friend's travel anecdote from start to finish.
Grammar and usage, explained
The skeleton of a story
To tell events in order, French leans on a small set of connectors: d'abord (first), ensuite or puis (then), enfin (finally). They usually open the sentence and are followed by a comma, except puis, which normally isn't. Each event is in the passé composé.
D'abord, j'ai pris une douche. Ensuite, j'ai bu un café.First I had a shower. Then I had a coffee.
Puis je suis parti au travail.Then I left for work.
Enfin, je suis arrivé au bureau à neuf heures.Finally, I got to the office at nine.
D'abord or au début?
Both can translate as « first » or « at first », but they do different jobs. D'abord is step one in a list of actions. Au début describes how things were at the start of a period, often in the imparfait, before something changed.
D'abord, j'ai rempli le formulaire.First, I filled in the form.
Au début, je ne parlais pas français. Maintenant, ça va mieux.At first I didn't speak French. Now it's going better.
Finalement or enfin?
Enfin is relief: « at last! » after a long wait. Finalement is the outcome: « in the end », often when the plan changed along the way.
Le bus est enfin arrivé !The bus finally came!
On voulait aller à la plage, mais finalement, on est restés à la maison.We wanted to go to the beach, but in the end we stayed at home.
Scenery and action
Think of a story as a film. The imparfait builds the set: the weather, the time, the crowd, what people were doing. The passé composé is the action: each event that moves the story on. At B1, the skill is switching between the two smoothly, often inside one sentence.
Ce jour-là, il faisait chaud et il y avait du monde au marché.That day it was hot and the market was crowded.
Tout à coup, un homme a crié.All of a sudden, a man shouted.
Linking background and event
Alors que and pendant que usually introduce the background, in the imparfait. Tout à coup brings in the event, in the passé composé. With quand and au moment où, look at the meaning: is it the scenery, or the thing that happened?
Alors que je traversais la rue, une moto est passée à toute vitesse.As I was crossing the street, a motorbike shot past.
Il faisait nuit quand nous sommes arrivés au village.It was dark when we got to the village.
The past before the past
When you're already telling a story in the past and need to jump further back, use the plus-que-parfait: avoir or être in the imparfait + the past participle. English does the same with « had »: I had forgotten.
Quand je suis arrivé à la gare, j'ai vu que j'avais oublié mon billet.When I got to the station, I saw I had forgotten my ticket.
Nous avions réservé une chambre, mais l'hôtel était complet.We had booked a room, but the hotel was full.
Être verbs stay être verbs
Verbs that take être in the passé composé (aller, partir, arriver, rester…) and all reflexive verbs take être in the plus-que-parfait too. The participle still agrees with the subject.
Quand je suis arrivée, le bus était déjà parti.When I arrived, the bus had already left.
Elles étaient restées à la maison.They had stayed at home.
Il s'était trompé d'adresse.He had gone to the wrong address.
Hooking your listener
A good anecdote has a hook, a twist and a reaction. Open with figure-toi que… or il m'est arrivé un truc. Mark the twist with heureusement or malheureusement. Your listener keeps you going with et alors ? and c'est pas vrai !
Il m'est arrivé un truc incroyable hier.Something incredible happened to me yesterday.
Figure-toi que j'ai perdu mon portefeuille !Guess what, I lost my wallet!
Se rendre compte: no agreement
Se rendre compte que means to realise. Like every reflexive verb it takes être, but rendu never agrees, because the real object is compte. What you realise is often in the imparfait or the plus-que-parfait.
Je me suis rendu compte que j'avais oublié mon sac.I realised I'd forgotten my bag.
Elle s'est rendu compte qu'il était tard.She realised it was late.
Story: Sofia's trip to Cotonou
Sofia lives in Lyon. Last month she took the bus from Lomé to Cotonou for her cousin's wedding. Back in France, she tells her friend Julien what happened at the border. Listen and answer.
Vocabulary: 32 words and phrases
Tap 🔊 to hear each one, recorded by a native-sounding French voice.
D'abord, ensuite, enfin
Listen
French
English
d'abordD'abord, on a cherché un taxi.(First, we looked for a taxi.)
first / first of allStarts a sequence of actions. Don't confuse it with au début, which means at the beginning of a period of time.
ensuite
then / nextEnsuite and puis both mean then. Alternate them so your story doesn't repeat the same word.
puis
thenA little lighter than ensuite, and usually without a comma after it: puis je suis parti.
au débutAu début, je ne comprenais rien.(At first, I didn't understand anything.)
at the beginning / at firstAu début de + noun: au début du film, au début de l'année.
à ce moment-là
at that moment / just thenIn a story, it often brings in the moment when everything changes.
au bout de…Au bout d'une heure, le bus est enfin arrivé.(After an hour, the bus finally arrived.)
after… (a length of time)Literally « at the end of ». It suggests a wait: au bout d'une heure = after an hour (of waiting).
finalementFinalement, on n'est pas partis.(In the end, we didn't go.)
in the end / eventuallyFinalement gives the outcome, often when things turned out differently from the plan.
enfin
at last / finallyEnfin means « at last » after a wait, or « lastly » at the end of a list. In speech, enfin… also means « well… » when you correct yourself.
Le décor et l'action
Listen
French
English
ce jour-là
that dayLà points back to a moment you've already mentioned: ce soir-là, cette année-là.
il faisait nuit
it was darkDarkness works like weather, with faire. Il commençait à faire nuit = it was getting dark.
j'étais en train de…J'étais en train de cuisiner quand Lina a appelé.(I was cooking when Lina called.)
I was (busy) …ingÊtre en train de + infinitive stresses that an action was in progress. In a story, it's almost always in the imparfait.
qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ?
what happened?Se passer = to happen. Like every reflexive verb, it takes être: ça s'est passé hier.
tout à coup
all of a suddenSame meaning as soudain. Both bring in an event, so the verb that follows is in the passé composé.
au moment oùAu moment où je suis sorti, il a commencé à pleuvoir.(Just as I went out, it started to rain.)
just as / at the moment whenNever « au moment quand ». After a word for time, French uses où: le jour où, l'année où.
alors que
while / asIntroduces the background, in the imparfait. It can also mean « whereas »: il travaille alors que je me repose.
Le plus-que-parfait
Listen
French
English
j'avais oubliéJ'avais oublié mes clés dans la voiture.(I had left my keys in the car.)
I had forgottenPlus-que-parfait: avoir in the imparfait + past participle.
elle avait perdu
she had lost
nous avions réservé
we had booked
il était déjà parti
he had already leftVerbs that take être in the passé composé take être here too, with the same agreement: elle était partie.
je m'étais trompé(e)
I had made a mistake / I had got it wrongReflexive verbs use être. Se tromper de = to get the wrong…: je m'étais trompé de jour.
déjà
alreadyIt sits between the helper verb and the participle: j'avais déjà mangé.
la veilleLa veille, il avait beaucoup plu.(The day before, it had rained a lot.)
the day beforeThe day before a moment in your story. Counting back from today, say hier.
quelques jours plus tôt
a few days earlierSame pattern: deux heures plus tôt, un an plus tôt. For later: quelques jours plus tard.
Figure-toi que…
Listen
French
English
figure-toi que…Figure-toi que j'ai croisé Thiago à Paris !(Guess what, I bumped into Thiago in Paris!)
guess what… / believe it or not…Grabs your listener's attention before a surprise. With vous: figurez-vous que…
il m'est arrivé un truc incroyable
something incredible happened to meArriver à quelqu'un = to happen to someone. Un truc is the everyday word for « a thing ».
et alors ?
and then what? / so?Said with rising curiosity, it pushes the storyteller on. Said flatly, it means « so what? ».
c'est pas vrai !
no way! / you're kidding!In everyday speech the ne often disappears. In writing: ce n'est pas vrai.
quelle histoire !
what a story!Also used for a big fuss or a palaver.
heureusement
luckily / fortunately
malheureusement
unfortunately
j'ai eu très peur
I was really scaredIn French you have fear: avoir peur. The same goes for avoir honte (to be ashamed).
je me suis rendu compte que…
I realised that…Rendu never changes here, even for a woman: elle s'est rendu compte. The object is compte, so there's no agreement.
Example sentences
D'abord, j'ai raté le bus. Ensuite, il a commencé à pleuvoir. Enfin, je suis arrivé au travail.First I missed the bus. Then it started to rain. Finally I got to work.
Il faisait nuit et tout à coup, j'ai entendu un bruit bizarre.It was dark and all of a sudden I heard a strange noise.
Quand je suis arrivé à la gare, le train était déjà parti.When I got to the station, the train had already left.
Figure-toi que je me suis rendu compte que j'avais oublié mon passeport à la maison !Guess what, I realised I'd left my passport at home!
Malheureusement, j'avais oublié mon passeport, mais heureusement, ma tante me l'a apporté.Unfortunately I'd forgotten my passport, but luckily my aunt brought it to me.
Practise it, don't just read it
This unit is part of French Ultimate's B1 course: 5 short lessons with an animated video each, speaking and listening practice, a reading and an end-of-unit test.