Je ne connaissais pas

Question

In the exercise "I don't know this author" English present tense, is translated as "je ne connaissais pas" French Imparfait? Is that correct?

Accepted Answer

Hi Paul, 
We have changed the French to the present tense to match the English.
Bonne Continuation !

Answer

Hi Paul,The text should be "I didn't know" to match l'imparfait.For first person present as per the text ( I don't know ...) then it needs to be written '"Je ne connais pas ___"The sense is that of not being aware of, or familiar with, this particular author.Hope this helpsJim

Answer

You use the imperfect tense in French also for events that happened in the past (usually with some noticeable duration) that do not extend to the presence.

In this case, the imperfect is used because you didn't know the author in the past but you do know her now.