Picture scene
Describe a past scene in French: explore a station square
Explore a station square and describe what was there, what the weather was like and how people felt, using the French imparfait.
- A2
- 6 things to find
- Tap to explore
- Find-it game
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Use the imparfait to place the reader inside a past scene: La place était calme. Il faisait froid. Il y avait un café. Choose the French expression first: location uses être, weather often uses faire, and “there was” is il y avait.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
The square that morning: tap the details, then find them
Find:
How do you describe a past scene with the imparfait?
Ce matin-là, nous étions devant la gare. Il faisait froid et il pleuvait. Le café était fermé. Une voyageuse attendait près du banc.
That morning, we were in front of the station. It was cold and raining. The café was closed. A traveller was waiting near the bench.
| What you describe | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| A location | Nous étions devant la gare. | We were in front of the station. |
| Something in the scene | Il y avait un banc. | There was a bench. |
| Several things in the scene | Il y avait des flaques. | There were puddles. |
| Weather | Il faisait froid. | It was cold. |
| A person’s feeling | La voyageuse avait froid. | The traveller felt cold. |
| A person’s state | La voyageuse était fatiguée. | The traveller was tired. |
Il y avait stays singular even when several things follow. The adjective in la voyageuse était fatiguée agrees with the woman. Elle avait froid describes her feeling; il faisait froid describes the weather around her.
Le café était fermé.The café was closed.
Focus: The state that explains the next action.
Le café était fermé. Nous avons attendu dehors.
The café was closed. We waited outside.
Le café a fermé à neuf heures.The café closed at nine.
Focus: The event: the café stopped serving customers.
The imparfait can describe an activity as well as a still object: une voyageuse attendait shows waiting in progress. A finished period can also be summarised with the passé composé: Il a fait froid toute la semaine. The viewpoint determines the tense.