I'm really confused on how to say I had in French. I thought "j'ai eu", meant "I have had".
So that left me with the only option "j'avais". Now I'm confused. Could someone explain me the difference between these two?
[UPDATE from Admin]
See a summary of the answer HERE
PS: Here are some related free lessons to learn French: Teaching: Romantic Relationships — Imperatives — Forms of créer, nier, scier, rire, etc — Repetition of the definite article
- Nari_December 2015
GIVE ANSWERS
Pat747March 2018 J'ai eu --> action qui a eu lieu une fois, ou action brève. J'avais --> action (ou situation) qui a duré dans le temps ou était habituelle, qui est désormais terminée. Exemple : J'avais 20 ans quand j'ai eu ma première voiture. Exemple : J'ai eu un accident de voiture quand j'avais mon appartement à Paris. |
CryCryDandelionsApril 2023 Merci beaucoup
dariiaNovember 2017 It is complicated indeed. French speakers have the same problem in the other way!
It's all about the duration : you can imagine the past time as a long line. On this line, sometimes events happen ; or you do some actions ; you hear something ; etc.
On the line : - let's say there is always a "general context" : you were someone / you had some occupation / you went around with someone... somewhere in the past (for instance : two years ago and for some period) : that was the general context of your life then -> IMPARFAIT (j'avais) - but there also appear some specific and momentary events on the line. Some which will be marked as crosses or so... For instance : you won a contest (at a specific date) ; you succeedeed in your exams (a specific year) ; you had an accident ; you met someone (specific time and place...) -> PASSÉ COMPOSÉ (j'ai eu)
* * En 2013, je n'avais encore que deux enfants. J'ai eu mon troisième enfant en 2014. (Mon troisième enfant est né en 2014.) J'ai trois enfants. ** En 2012, j'étais étudiante. J'ai obtenu mon diplôme au mois de juin 2012.
Here you can make the comparison present perfect / passé composé but be careful.. because it's rare!! I mean that you can say : "J'ai étudié l'histoire." (this applies that this experience belongs to the being you are right now... quite like present perfect so) But this sentence is also correct : "J'étudiais l'histoire [cette année-là]"... (you just talk about you past occupation... as a past one)
Attention : all of this is the same when you talk about a very close past. It should be no problem if you keep in mind the same image of a regular line where specific events appear... -> Hier, j'étais au restaurant quand tu m'as téléphoné. Ce matin, j'étais encore au lit quand le facteur a sonné.
It's never about the length between the event and now ; always about the nature of the activity ---or sometimes about what we want to tell about it (do I want to say that I used to study something some years ago ; or that I have studied something and then I know things about it now...)---. Il y a une heure, j'étais au travail. Il y a une heure, je me suis endormi au travail. -> "Il y a une heure" doesn't matter itself.
**** I hope this will help!! **** |
CryCryDandelionsApril 2023 Merci
vincentNovember 2021
vincentMay 2020 Many thanks
Daniel67frDecember 2015 "J'ai eu" is for something that happened only once, or something suddenly While "J'avais" is something that last, or an habit that is finished |
atoufaMay 2018 J'a eu