In Module 9, you learned how to describe the past in richer ways using the imparfait, especially for memories, childhood, residences, descriptions, habits, ongoing situations, and background information.
You began by learning how to describe what you liked to do in the past with expressions such as jâaimais lire, jâadorais danser, je prĂ©fĂ©rais regarder des films, and je nâaimais pas faire les devoirs. You also practiced past-time phrases such as quand jâĂ©tais enfant, quand jâĂ©tais jeune, avant, and Ă lâĂ©poque.
You then learned how to describe what someone or something was like in the past using ĂȘtre in the imparfait, with forms such as jâĂ©tais, câĂ©tait, il Ă©tait, elle Ă©tait, and ils Ă©taient. You practiced describing people, places, and things with sentences such as Ma maison Ă©tait petite, Mon quartier Ă©tait calme, and JâĂ©tais timide.
You expanded your vocabulary for residences and living situations, including une maison, un appartement, un studio, une rĂ©sidence universitaire, une chambre, un logement, un immeuble, and un quartier. You also learned how to talk about where you live now with jâhabite and where you used to live with jâhabitais.
You studied the comparative and superlative of adjectives, using patterns such as plus⊠que, moins⊠que, aussi⊠que, le/la/les plus, and le/la/les moins. You also learned the special form meilleur(e) for better or best.
In the second half of the module, you used the imparfait to describe habitual actions in the past, such as je jouais dehors, je regardais des dessins animĂ©s, je faisais mes devoirs, and jâallais Ă lâĂ©cole Ă pied. You also learned how to use the imparfait for ongoing actions and situations, such as je regardais un film, il pleuvait, jâĂ©tais Ă la maison, and nous Ă©tions en classe.
Finally, you compared the passé composé and the imparfait. You learned that the passé composé is often used for completed events, while the imparfait is used for descriptions, habits, ongoing actions, and background information. You practiced combining them in sentences such as Je regardais un film quand mon ami est arrivé and Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti.
By the end of Module 9, you should be able to describe childhood memories, talk about past residences, compare people and places, describe past habits, set the scene in the past, and choose between the passé composé and the imparfait with more confidence.
Module 10 will build on these skills by helping you greet people for holidays and special occasions, ask for explanations, talk about celebrations, use indirect object pronouns, express beliefs with croire, describe people and things with relative clauses, and add detail to events using adverbs.
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