Completed past and ongoing past.

Question

Hi can l’imparfait be used to describe both an ongoing action in the past and a completed action in the past?  For eg. why is Je lisais tous les jours, I study every day and  Je alles is marche, I was going to the market?

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Y D.,
L'imparfait is used for ongoing or habitual (or repeated) actions in the past. It is not used for completed actions which is what we use Le Passé Composé for.

Je lisais tous les jours = I used to read/I would read every day
J'allais au marché = I used to go/I would go to the market

-> L'Imparfait describes a past habit or an ongoing action in the past

J'ai lu tous les jours pendant les vacances = I read every day during the holidays
Je suis allé au marché ce matin = I went to the market this morning

-> Le Passé Composé is used to refer to a one time action that is completed
 
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Céline Pickard · Answer

Bonjour Anne,
You're right that "j'ai lu tous les jours" sounds strange on its own looks because there is no time boundary. Therefore, I have updated these the two examples in Le Passé Composé by adding a time phrase to indicate a clear beginning and end to the action and to avoid any ambiguity.
Using the compound tense (Le Passé Composé) on its own or with the imperfect tense (L'Imparfait)
Merci de votre contribution !
Bonne journée !

Anne Davies · Answer

J'ai lu tous les jours = I read every time  I don’t understand at all why this isn’t in l’imparfait, as it appears to be a repeated action.