In the exercise "I don't know this author" English present tense, is translated as "je ne connaissais pas" French Imparfait? Is that correct?
Je ne connaissais pas
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paul b.Kwiziq community member
Je ne connaissais pas
This question relates to:French writing exercise "Two major French-speaking female authors"
Asked 8 months ago
Hi Paul,
We have changed the French to the present tense to match the English.
Bonne Continuation !
Jim J. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
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 helps
Jim
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
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.
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