Language/French/Grammar/"J'ai-eu"-or-"j'avais"

"J'ai eu" versus "J'avais"

Hello French learners 😀

In today's lesson we will talk about a rather complicated question. What's the difference between "J'ai eu" (Passé Composé tense) and "J'avais" (Imparfait tense)?

Sometimes even native French people make mistakes and confuse the two tenses.

In French, the use of the past tense is crucial for communicating about past events and experiences. In this lesson, we will be focusing on the difference between the two common past tense forms in French: "j'ai eu" and "j'avais." These two forms are used to express different aspects of the past, and it is important to understand the difference between them in order to use them correctly. By the end of the lesson, you will have a clear understanding of when and how to use each form, and will be able to use them accurately in your writing and speaking. Whether you are a beginner learning French or just looking to improve your grammar skills, this lesson will provide you with the tools you need to master the past tense in French.

Summary

Here is the answer to the question in summary:

Rule: Passé Composé Tense - "J'ai eu": ⇨ action that took place once, or short action. Imparfait Tense - "J'avais": ⇨ action (or situation) that lasted over time or was usual, which is now over. Examples: J'ai eu un accident de voiture quand j'avais mon appartement à Paris. J'avais 20 ans quand j'ai eu ma première voiture.

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 :

IMPARFAIT (j'avais)

• 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)

PASSÉ COMPOSÉ (j'ai eu) 

• However 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) 

Examples

• 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!

Source

https://polyglotclub.com/language/french/question/15117