The Past Perfected: Passé Composé vs Imparfait Made Easy

The French Language Institute of Boulder is excited to welcome you to this workshop to this fun, 90-min Zoom workshop to finally use passé composé vs. imparfait with confidence and fluency!

Get ready to conquer one of the trickiest—and most important—challenges in French grammar: passé composé vs imparfait. These two past tenses confuse almost every French learner at some point—but in this fun, hands-on workshop, we’ll make it clear, simple, and even enjoyable. If you’ve ever hesitated mid-sentence—J’ai fait or je faisais?—this is your chance to finally understand the difference and use both with confidence. Together, we’ll explore real-life examples, practice through storytelling, and dive into engaging group activities designed to help the rules click. By the end, you’ll walk away with practical tools, a sharper instinct for tense choice, and a new sense of ease when talking about the past in French.
Don't worry, c'est facile! Just show up and leave the rest to us!

What to Expect:

📆 Duration: 90 minutes of focused, interactive learning
***Please note that this workshop is scheduled in Mountain Standard Time (MDT), which may be a different time for you depending on your location/time zone.
🎯In-Class Activities:

• Real-life examples and guided comparisons between passé composé and imparfait
• Collaborative “tense detective” group challenges
• Storytelling games and mini-dialogues to build fluency
• Narrative rewriting exercises to apply what you’ve learned in context

🎯Outcomes – You Will Leave With:

• A clear understanding of when and why to use each tense
• Practical strategies to avoid common mistakes
• Increased confidence in speaking and writing about the past
• A new sense of ease when expressing nuance, sequence, and background in French

📍 Additional Information:
This is a live online workshop held via Zoom.
Registrants must provide a valid email address at the time of registration their ticket to this online workshop. Zoom access details will be sent to the email address provided prior to the event.
Please note: Registrations fee is non-refundable. Be sure to double-check your contact information at registration to ensure you receive all necessary details.