imparfait ou passé composé

Question

Sometimes I really struggle with deciding whether to use imparfait or passé composé. In this example, the English phrase is:
"I've always dreamed of going (there),
For me, I translated this to "Je rêvais toujours d'y aller," as it is something in the past, but not a fixed point with a clear start and stop. It is something that occurred over a period of time and is still occurring. However, the correct answer was passé composé with "J'ai toujours rêvé d'y aller,"
Can you please explain to my why passé composé is used here and not imparfait? I'm very frustrated and feel like this is something I'm never going to get.

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Justin,
Le Passé Composé is used here because it is an action that started in the past and is still ongoing with the use of "toujours".
Take a look at the link below:
Passé Composé use here
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Justin Hazenberg · Answer

Okay, so digging three links down, from what I can tell the rules of passé composé and imparfait switch if you use modifiers like toujours, jamais, or souvent. Is that correct?

To extend this example:

Je rêvais d'y aller -> at some point in the past I dreamed of going there, I may have stopped or possible still do

J'ai rêvé d'y aller -> at a fixed point in the past I dreamt of going there, but no longer do

J'ai toujours d'y aller -> I have always dreamt of going there (past and present)

Je rêvais toujours d'y aller -> I dreamt of going there in the past, but no longer

Is there above correct?

Céline Pickard · Answer

Bonjour Justin,
Not quite! The adverbs "toujours/souvent/jamais" work with both tenses and each tense keeps its meaning:
- Imparfait -> ongoing or habitual action in the past = "always/often/never used to ... / would always/often/never ..."
- Passé Composé -> a completed action = "have always/often/never [done]..."
So, L'Imparfait paints an ongoing past while Le Passé Composé sums up a finished one.
 
Also, your analysis of your examples is nearly there. There's just one other thing to precise:
Je rêvais d'y aller = I used to dream of going there
-> a past habit - no longer happening
 
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Alan Graham · Answer

What makes this confusing, I think, is that because the passé composé has replaced the passé simple outside literature, the passé composé now has 2 different usages that are almost contradictory. So it can represent "an action that started in the past and is still ongoing" or "a finished one".

As the replacement of the passé simple, it's a completed event in the past. But it can also be the equivalent of the present perfect in English, where it links the past to the present - either an action in the past which is still continuing, or an action in the past with an effect on the present.

When translating from French to English, you have to rely on the context to decide which applies, and that could include words like toujours.