# FR: Quand j'étais jeune, je faisais de la danse



## tatoearashiga

I know that imparfait is about incompleted action which may still happen in the present or it can actions done regularly in the past

However, I find hard to tell which of the two some action is talking about--regarding time.

Like for example, Quand j'etais jeune, je faisais de la danse.

In this sentence, does it imply dancing 

a) was done before regularly and was no longer done now,  (like, I used to dancing when I was young)
b) or dancing is stil done by the subject until now?               (like, I have been dancing since I was young)


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## jann

tatoearashiga said:


> I know that imparfait is about incompleted action which may still happen in the present or it can actions done regularly in the past


Actually, no.    This is why you are confused.  The _imparfait_ cannot refer to an action that still continues in the present.  The action, or the period we're talking about, had to be entirely in the past in order for us to use _imparfait._ 

When you say _quand j'étais jeune_, the fact that you use the imparfait automatically tells us that you are not young now.  So the period that was entirely in the past is your youth.  And during your youth, you danced.

Since you are not young now, we tecnically don't know anything about whether you still dance in the present.  However, there a very strong implication that you stopped dancing unless you specifically tell us otherwise.


_Quand j'etais jeune, je faisais de la danse._ 
= When I was young, I danced. [Neither EN nor FR tells us if you still dance, but both leave us to assume that you don't]

_Quand j'etais jeune, je faisais de la danse (mais j'ai arrêté)._ 
= When I was young, I used to dance. [EN tells us clearly that you don't dance now; FR is ambiguous unless you add the parenthetical remark.]

_Quand j'etais jeune, je faisais de la danse.  J'en fais encore, d'ailleurs _
= When I was young, I danced.  I still do, actually. [EN and FR require a 2nd sentence to make it clear that you still dance]
_
Je fais de la dance depuis tout(e) petit(e), depuis mon enfance, depuis l'âge de 8 ans, etc._
= I have been dancing since I was very young, since childhood, since the age of 8, etc.

Note how French uses the present tense + _depuis_ in the last sentence!


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## Line2001

Hi,
The explanation is correct, however I would say that unless you say otherwise, the sentence "quand j'étais jeune, je faisais la danse" without any other details strongly suggests that you stopped dancing at some point. Even for a moment, and you can dance again now, but you have stopped dancing at a time between "when you were young" and now.
The imparfait is used for an action you used to make regularly or with a certain duration in time. But the action is completely over, unless you specify otherwise (but then I wouldn't use the imparfait).


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## Maître Capello

jann said:


> Since you are not young now, we tecnically don't know anything about whether you still dance in the present.  However, there a very strong implication that you stopped dancing unless you specifically tell us otherwise.





Line2001 said:


> The explanation is correct, however I would say  that unless you say otherwise, the sentence "quand j'étais jeune, je  faisais [de] la danse" without any other details strongly suggests that you  stopped dancing at some point. Even for a moment, and you can dance again now, but you have stopped dancing at a time between "when you were young" and now.


The most probable translation is definitely choice (a): _When I was young, I used to dance_. (→ I don't dance anymore.) Of course it is possible that you stopped dancing at some point and resumed dancing later, but without context, the sentence implies that you're not dancing anymore.

P.S.: _Quand j'étais jeune, je faisais de la danse.  J'en fais encore, d'ailleurs._


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## tatoearashiga

Thank you all for the responses. Thank you jann, Line2001 and Maître Capello.

Now, I think I need to add another sentence or phrase if I want to be in particular that I am still dancing today or not.



jann said:


> Actually, no.    This is why you are confused.  The _imparfait_ cannot refer to an action that still continues in the present.  The action, or the period we're talking about, had to be entirely in the past in order for us to use _imparfait._
> _
> ...
> 
> Je fais de la dance depuis tout(e) petit(e), depuis mon enfance, depuis l'âge de 8 ans, etc.
> = I have been dancing since I was very young, since childhood, since the age of 8, etc.
> 
> Note how French uses the present tense + depuis in the last sentence!
> _



My grammar book says that _imparfait_ is used for actions that happened in the past, but may also still be happening in the present.
It somehow contradicts some of your statements.

Check these examples, _

Henri *était* beaucoup plus heureux *depuis* sa promotion.
J'*attendais* *depuis* deux heures quand tu es finalement arrivé.            (I think in this sentence, imparfait is used because it is an interrupted action.)
Marie ne *voyait* plus son amie *depuis* que Sylvie travaillait la nuit

_Can I used present here as well?

Based on the rule and the examples given, I think it could be: _Je faisais de la dance depuis...._Please clarify


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## Maître Capello

tatoearashiga said:


> My grammar book says that _imparfait_ is used for actions that happened in the past, but may also still be happening in the present.


I'm afraid your grammar book is incorrect, or you've misread what it says. The imparfait describes actions that happened in the past, but may also *have continued in the past*.

_Henri *était* beaucoup plus heureux depuis sa promotion._ → Henry was much more happy since his promotion. (But you don't know whether or not he is still happy.)
_ J'*attendais* depuis deux heures quand tu es finalement  arrivé._            → As you suggested, the imparfait is used because  it is an interrupted action. It is certainly not happening now since it was interrupted.
_ Marie ne *voyait* plus son amie depuis que Sylvie travaillait la nuit._ → Marie didn't spend anymore time with her friend since Sylvie worked at night. (But you don't know whether or not she is now spending time with her again.)
_Je *faisais* de la danse depuis deux ans._ → I had been dancing for two years. (But I don't tell whether or not I am still dancing now.)

If you want to say that the action is sill happening now, you need to use the present:

_Henri *est* beaucoup plus heureux depuis sa promotion._
_Marie ne *voit* plus son amie depuis que Sylvie travaille la nuit._
_Je *fais* de la danse depuis deux ans._ → I have been dancing for two years.


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## Mauricet

> The imparfait is used for an action you used to make regularly or with a  certain duration in time. But the action is completely over, unless you  specify otherwise (*but then I wouldn't use the imparfait*).


C'est trop absolu, il me semble. Exemple _Depuis quand dansez-vous ? -- Dans mon enfance, déjà, je dansais._ Rien n'empêche que j'aie toujours dansé, et même il est probable que j'ai toujours dansé, sans interruption, puisque la question est "Depuis quand ... ?". Dans cet exemple, l'imparfait est très naturel. C'est peut-être ce que le manuel de grammaire de tatoearashiga veut dire ...


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## Line2001

Je ne suis pas complètement d'accord... Je ne trouve pas l'imparfait très naturel dans cette phrase.
La réponse naturelle à une question telle que : depuis quand dansez-vous? serait plutôt "je *danse *depuis mon enfance". 
L'imparfait dans la phrase "_ Dans mon enfance, déjà, je dansais_" découle plus du fait que la personne, qui n'est plus un enfant, doit forcément utiliser le passé pour dire qu'elle le faisait déjà dans son enfance. Mais dans votre exemple, la continuité de l'action dans le présent est suggérée par le mot "déjà" et non pas par le temps en soi.
La question posée au départ concernait la phrase " Quand j'étais jeune, je faisais de la danse", et sans autre précision (pas d'utilisation de "déjà" par exemple), cette phrase tournée comme cela implique fortement que la personne n'en fait plus. 
N'êtes-vous pas d'accord?


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## Mauricet

Si bien sûr ! Ce que je conteste, c'est que l'imparfait ne convienne pas si le contexte (le mot "déjà" dans mon exemple) indique la continuité de l'action. Même si la réponse naturelle à le question _Depuis quand dansez-vous ?_ est pour vous différente, vous ne pouvez pas nier, me semble-t-il, que la réponse _Dans mon enfance, déjà, je dansais_ soit du bon français. Ergo, l'imparfait _peut  _parfois s'utiliser pour une action passée continuée jusqu'au temps présent.


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## tatoearashiga

Maître Capello said:


> I'm afraid your grammar book is incorrect, or you've misread what it says. The imparfait describes actions that happened in the past, but may also *have continued in the past*.



I agree. That also is one of the rules for imparfait. Actions happening in the past perceived to be lasting, ongoing for a while. It is as opposed to using passé composé where it does not talk about duration, rather point of time in the past. *However,* that is only one rule on how to use imparfait based on my book.

What exactly my book (_Barron`s French Grammar: The Easy way_) says
_
"Imparfait- Action started in the past but may be continuing in the present.
Passé compose- Action started in the past and ended in the past.__

An Imparfait action can have one or any combination of the following aspects.

Open Ended- Action

If you use the imparfait, you communicate two sorts of information
1) The action happened in the past, but
2) This action may also still be happening in the present

What you are considering is the past of the event but, contrary to the passé composé, the imparfait does not exclude the possibility for this action* to be continuing in the present*. We know that it happened in the past, which is what matters._

_Extension in Time    "_   (What you are saying about "*...have continued in the past*_*"*_ comes up here.)


and so on...

You already disagreed with the grammar book. I would like to know if the rule in the book is really false for the second time, so I would not follow it.

Thank you so much for your help.


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## Maître Capello

I indeed hadn't thought about phrases with _déjà_. Mauricet is correct and so is your grammar book: it _is_ possible to have a sentence in the imparfait describing an action that is still on-going. However it seems like it is only possible in sentences using *déjà*; otherwise, the action ended at some point in the past.

At any rate, _Quand j'étais jeune, je faisais de la danse_ doesn't imply at all that you're still dancing—quite the contrary.


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## poutpout

(a) because it's a habit of (in ?) the past.
I think the imparfait is not the problem here : "Quand" is used to say that it's a precise point in the past, she danced only when she was young and that's all.
If it was (b), the french would be "Depuis ma jeunesse..."

I hope you understand (my bad english)


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## tatoearashiga

Maître Capello said:


> If you want to say that the action is sill happening now, you need to use the present:
> 
> _Henri *est* beaucoup plus heureux depuis sa promotion._
> _Marie ne *voit* plus son amie depuis que Sylvie travaille la nuit._
> _Je *fais* de la danse depuis deux ans._ → I have been dancing for two years.



I have just encountered this, 

According to […]

We used passé composé for an action started in the past and still true in the present.

Examples given,

Tu as réussi tes examens.
Un incendie a éclaté dans un immeuble et l'immeuble est toujours en feu.

So I can also say: J'ai fait de la danse depuis ans.

Three tenses claiming they *started in the past and still may happen in the present*. I am so confused. 

J'ai faisais de la danse depuis ans. (This is possible with déjà so :  J'ai déjà faisais de la danse depuis ans)
Je fais de la danse depuis ans.
J'ai fait de la danse depuis ans.

P.S. I am already asking too much . Can you give me like a general rule please?


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## Maître Capello

> _Imparfait- Action started in the past but may be continuing in the present.
> Passé compose- Action started in the past and ended in the past._





> We used passé composé for an action started in the past and still true in the present.


The above statements are gross over-simplifications. French tenses and English tenses often do not match. Even more so, depending on the context, you may need to use different tenses in French to translate a given tense in English. We can't however discuss all those differences in a single thread.

All I can tell you for now is this:
_J'ai faisais…_  (this tense does not exist in French)
_Je *faisais* de la danse depuis deux ans_ tick (grammatically correct, but this is not happening anymore; it means "I had been dancing for two years")
_Je *fais* de la danse depuis deux ans._  (you are still dancing now)
_J'*ai fait* de la danse *depuis* deux ans._  (ungrammatical)

If you have questions about the right tense to use with _depuis_, see these threads. If you have other questions about specific sentences other than _Quand j'étais jeune, je faisais de la danse_, please open new threads if those questions have not been asked already.

Maître Capello
as member and moderator


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