an exception to using l'imparfait

I just came across a grammar rule for the first time that states that even though you’re talking about something you did habitually in the past, if the period during the action is clearly defined, you use passe’ compose’ or simple. example:

Il venait dèjeuner à la maison chaque dimanche

but

Pendant 2 ans il est venu dèjeuner à la maison tous les dimanches

I suspect that the majority of the French would use the imperfect in the 2nd sentence as well. Am I right?

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Permalink Reply by Chantal Savignat on March 18, 2013 at 3:26pm

it's difficult to answer that question.

It's not so strict.

But no, in the second sentence, French use this form rather than "imparfait". "Passé composé" is easier especially in oral language.

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EducatorPermalink Reply by George Hunt on March 18, 2013 at 4:00pm

By the way , it is "déjeuner" rather than "dèjeuner".

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Permalink Reply by Chantal Savignat on March 18, 2013 at 5:50pm

Yes George.

I never know if you have accents like us on your keyboards ?

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Permalink Reply by alan gould on March 18, 2013 at 5:55pm

There's a way to get the accents even though they don't show on the keyboard. I did know the right accent, I just made a mistake. thanks as always to you both.

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EducatorPermalink Reply by George Hunt on March 19, 2013 at 12:42am

I believe it is possible to set up the keyboard to do this but it seems far too much trouble to me and so, personally, I do the accented letters manually by copying and pasting from nearby words.

I also use the following website so as to have all the various French letters (and those of many other languages ) in one place for convenience.

http://french.typeit.org/

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Permalink Reply by alan gould on March 19, 2013 at 1:07am

I have a Mac but I would think this option exists for non-Macs. I asked them how to get the accents and they showed me how to turn on the settings. I now have a US flag that I click on and then I click to see a small keyboard, then hit the option key and I have a French keyboard (including ç). So anyone who has a Mac can have this option.