Why not imparfait for "I missed them when they were away?

DeletedC1Kwiziq community member

Why not imparfait for "I missed them when they were away?

I put Ils me manquaient quand ils étaient partis  but the answer given is Ils m'ont manqué quand ils étaient partis. 

I thought it would be imparfait because I was in a state of missing them all the time they were absent.

Asked 3 years ago
ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Ils me manquaient quand ils étaient partis sounds to French ears like "I was missing them when they were away". If that's what you want to say, the imperfect tense is great. If, however, you are talking about a single instance you would use the passé composé.

Deleted asked:View original

Why not imparfait for "I missed them when they were away?

I put Ils me manquaient quand ils étaient partis  but the answer given is Ils m'ont manqué quand ils étaient partis. 

I thought it would be imparfait because I was in a state of missing them all the time they were absent.

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