IB Diploma French B SL · Grammar backbone 1 of 10 — Tense-system consolidation
IB French B Grammar
Tense-system consolidation
Before you build the harder IB French B structures, you need the past tenses rock-solid. This lesson consolidates the three that do most of the work: the passé composé (completed events), the imparfait (ongoing / habitual / description), and the plus-que-parfait — the pluperfect, for one past action before another.
IB Diploma French B (SL): this grammar is the backbone of all five prescribed themes — identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet — and it powers every receptive, productive and interactive task.
Work through each screen and answer the questions — some ask you to choose the right tense, some to produce the form. Collect ⭐ and press Start.
The workhorse
Passé composé — a completed event
The passé composé narrates single, completed events in the past. It is built from a present-tense auxiliary (avoir or être) plus a past participle:
avoir / être (present) + past participle= a completed, finished action
J'ai mangé une pizza. — I ate a pizza. (one finished event)
Elle est arrivée à huit heures. — She arrived at eight. (être verb → agreement: arrivée)
Remember: the être verbs (movement / change of state) and all reflexives make the participle agree with the subject.
The backdrop
Imparfait — ongoing, habitual, description
The imparfait paints the background: things that were going on, used to happen, or describe a state. Endings on the nous-stem: -ais/-ais/-ait/-ions/-iez/-aient.
Quand j'étais petit, je jouais au foot. — I used to play. (habit)
Il faisait beau. — It was fine. (description)
Pendant que je lisais… — While I was reading… (ongoing)
The tell: "used to", "was …-ing", weather, feelings, age and scene-setting almost always want the imparfait.
Quick check
Used to play
?Which is the right form for "I used to play" (habit) — from jouer?
The contrast
Passé composé vs imparfait
The two tenses work together. The imparfait sets the scene; the passé composé drops in the event that interrupts it:
Je lisais quand le téléphone a sonné. — I was reading (scene) when the phone rang (event).
Il faisait nuit et elle est partie. — It was dark (description) and she left (event).
Rule of thumb: a completed, one-off action → passé composé; a background, a habit, or a description → imparfait.
Sort it
Which tense fits?
Type it
Your turn — passé composé
1Write "I ate" in the passé composé, from manger (use je).
Hint: present avoir (j'ai) + past participle mangé.
Building blocks
Irregular past participles
The passé composé and the pluperfect both need the past participle. The regular ones are easy (-er → -é, -ir → -i, -re → -u), but the common irregulars must be memorised:
infinitive
past participle
faire
fait
dire
dit
voir
vu
écrire
écrit
mettre
mis
prendre
pris
avoir
eu
être
été
ouvrir
ouvert
mourir
mort
Note:avoir → eu and être → été come up constantly — j'ai eu ("I had"), j'ai été ("I was / have been").
Quick check
Which participle?
?What is the past participle of écrire (to write)?
Game · Match
Match the infinitive to its participle
Tap an infinitive on the left, then its past participle on the right.
INFINITIVE
faire
dire
voir
écrire
mettre
prendre
PAST PARTICIPLE
écrit
fait
pris
vu
mis
dit
One step further back
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect means "had done" — a past action before another past action. Build it from the imperfect of the auxiliary plus the past participle:
avoir / être (imperfect) + past participle= "had done" — earlier than another past event
J'avais mangé avant de partir. — I had eaten before leaving.
Elle était partie quand je suis arrivé. — She had left when I arrived. (être → partie agrees)
Agreement holds: exactly as in the passé composé, être verbs and reflexives agree — ils étaient partis, elle s'était levée.
Quick check
"I had eaten"
?Which is the correct pluperfect for "I had eaten" — from manger?
Type it
Your turn — imperfect of être
2Write the je imperfect form of être (to be).
Hint: être uses the irregular imperfect stem ét- + -ais.
Auxiliary in the pluperfect
avoir or être?
The auxiliary in the pluperfect is chosen exactly as in the passé composé. Most verbs take avoir; the movement / change-of-state verbs and reflexives take être and agree:
J'avais fini mes devoirs. — I had finished. (avoir)
Ils étaient partis déjà. — They had already left. (être → partis)
Quand je suis arrivé, ils étaient déjà partis. — When I arrived, they had already gone.
Watch: "when I arrived, they had already left" needs the pluperfect for the earlier action (étaient partis) and the passé composé for the later one (je suis arrivé).
Quick check
Pluperfect with être
?Which is the correct pluperfect for "they had left" — from partir (masc. plural)?
Type it
Your turn — pluperfect with être
3Translate "she had left" into French — pluperfect of partir (use elle).
Hint: imperfect of être (était) + agreeing participle partie.
Sort it
Passé composé or imparfait?
Sort each sentence by the tense it uses: a completed event, or an ongoing / habitual / descriptive backdrop.
Passé composé (completed event)
Imparfait (ongoing / habit / description)
Type it
Your turn — a participle
4Write the past participle of faire (to do / make).
Hint: it is irregular — think j'ai ___ mes devoirs.
Sequencing the past
Three tenses in one story
A polished IB French B narration weaves all three. Watch how they layer:
J'avais déjà dîné (pluperfect — earlier) quand il pleuvait encore (imparfait — backdrop) et soudain le courant a coupé (passé composé — the event).
= "I had already dined while it was still raining, and suddenly the power cut out."
Exam gold: a well-placed pluperfect (j'avais fait, elle était partie) shows the examiner you can sequence the past — a reliable mark-earner.
Quick check
A single event
?Which is the right form for "she arrived" (a single completed event) — from arriver?
Type it
Your turn — pluperfect production
5Translate "I had spoken" into French — pluperfect of parler (use je).
Hint: imperfect of avoir (j'avais) + participle parlé.
Recap
Your past-tense toolkit
Passé composé: present avoir/être + participle = a completed event (j'ai mangé, elle est arrivée).
Imparfait: ongoing, habitual, descriptive backdrop (je jouais, il faisait beau).
Pluperfect: imperfect avoir/être + participle = "had done" (j'avais mangé, elle était partie) — être verbs & reflexives agree.