9.2 A narrative in the past — Epoché
What you will be able to write A narrative in the past of about 220 words: a day you remember, told in the order it happened. The choice between the perfect and the imperfect, sentence by sentence: events in the perfect, background and description in the imperfect. The time markers that give a story its shape: ce jour-là , d'abord , soudain , finalement . A draft you can check for tenses with an AI assistant, keeping your own choices when they are correct. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the French aloud; all of them come back below. French English J'étais déjà allé au lit quand le téléphone a sonné. [1] I had already gone to bed when the telephone rang. Je ne me souviens pas d'avoir eu des jouets quand j'étais petit. [2] I don't remember having had any toys when I was young. Je dois lui dire que le téléphone a sonné pendant qu'elle était sortie. [3] I have to tell her that the phone rang while she was gone. Je me souviens très bien d'elle. [4] I remember her very well. Elle était accompagnée de son petit ami. [5] She was accompanied by her boyfriend. Elle a peut-être été surprise quand elle a reçu ma lettre. [6] She may have been surprised when she received my letter. Prerequisites : 9.1 and 4.14 — this lesson follows 9.1 Writing , and its subject is the opposition between the perfect and the imperfect taught in 4.14 Grammar . You have since seen it at work in the readings of this phase, from 7.7 Reading to 7.16 Reading . Every French narrative in the past weaves two tenses together. One moves the story forward: the perfect in everyday writing, the literary past in novels. The other stops the story to describe the scene: the imperfect. English uses its simple past for both, so an English speaker has to make a decision French writers make without thinking. This lesson gives you a model, a method for deciding, and a task: tell a day you remember. Model A learner tells the story of her first day in France. The text was written for this lesson. Read it once for the story, then a second time and underline every verb. Je me souviens très bien de mon premier jour en France. C'était le 2 septembre, et il faisait encore chaud. J'avais dix-neuf ans, et je ne connaissais personne à Lyon. Ce jour-là, je suis arrivée à la gare à dix heures du matin. J'avais deux grosses valises, et je ne savais pas où était mon hôtel. D'abord, j'ai cherché un plan, mais je n'en ai pas trouvé. Ensuite, j'ai demandé mon chemin à une vieille dame qui attendait le bus. Elle parlait très vite, et je ne comprenais pas tout, mais elle a souri et elle m'a montré la rue. Pendant que je marchais, il a commencé à pleuvoir. Soudain, une de mes valises s'est ouverte au milieu de la rue ! Deux étudiants qui passaient m'ont aidée à ramasser mes affaires. Ils étaient très sympas, et ils m'ont accompagnée jusqu'à l'hôtel. Le soir, j'étais fatiguée, mais j'étais heureuse. Finalement, ce premier jour a été une bonne surprise : j'avais déjà deux amis. The plan Part What it does · tenses Setting when, where, who, what it was like · imperfect: c'était , il faisait , j'avais Events what happened, in order · perfect: je suis arrivée , j'ai cherché , j'ai demandé Background to the events what was going on when they happened · imperfect: une dame qui attendait le bus , pendant que je marchais The turning point a sudden event, often with soudain · perfect: une de mes valises s'est ouverte The end how it finished, how you felt · perfect for the conclusion, imperfect for the feeling The method for each verb is the one from 4.14 Grammar : ask whether it moves the story forward or fills in the scene. If it moves the story forward, use the perfect. If it describes a state, a feeling, the weather, the time, or an action already going on, use the imperfect. When two actions happen together, the one that was going on is in the imperfect and the one that interrupted it is in the perfect: pendant que je marchais, il a commencé à pleuvoir . Notice the agreements in the model, because the writer is a woman: je suis arrivée , fatiguée , m'ont aidée , m'ont accompagnée . The last two agree with the object pronoun m' , which comes before the verb. Useful sentences Corpus sentences that open, turn and close a story. French English Quand j'étais petit, je tenais un journal. [7] When I was small I kept a diary. Ce jour-là, ma vie a changé. [8] That day, my life changed. Hier il pleuvait. [9] Yesterday it was raining. Heureusement il faisait beau. [10] Fortunately, the weather was good. Soudain le téléphone sonna. [11] Just then, the telephone rang. Soudain, tout devint clair. [12] Suddenly, everything became clear. Finalement j'ai réussi l'examen. [13] At last, I passed the test. The fifth and sixth are in the literary past, sonna , devint , as a novel would write them; in your own story, use the perfect: le téléphone a sonné , tout est devenu clair . Practice Read and translate. Read them aloud, then translate each into English: Je suis ici pour affaires. [14] / Pourquoi ne t'a-t-elle pas aidée ? [15] / Tout le monde a souri. [16] / Et personne ne t'a aidée ? [17] / Les gens avec qui je travaille sont très sympas. [18] / Je me suis rendu compte que je ne comprenais rien. [19] Into French. Say these in French; every word has come up in the course: They spent a lot of time together. Your task Write a narrative of about 220 words about a day you remember well: a first day somewhere, a journey, a surprise, a disaster that ended well. Follow the plan: a setting in the imperfect, at least four events in the perfect, one action interrupted by another, a turning point with soudain , and an ending that says how you felt. Use at least four time markers. Asking the AI for help Write your story completely before you ask for help. Then ask, for example: Here is my French narrative in the past. For each verb, tell me whether my choice of perfect or imperfect is correct, and explain any wrong choice in one English sentence. Do not rewrite my story.