In Remembrance of Things Past

Marcel Proust (Image from Google Images, Public Domain)

I'm embarrassed to admit that I still have a little trouble determining when to use passé composé or imparfait.  Especially since I have an MA in English, so grammar should come easier in any language.  Most of the time I get it right, but I have to apply a sort of artificial logic.  In English it just seems intuitive.  What helps is the typical textbook recommendation to use 'was' or 'were' as signposts for imparfait and 'has' or 'had' for passé composé.  Every now and then, though, I get it wrong.  I still haven't developed that intuitive assurance in French yet--which is discouraging considering how many years I've put into mastering it. 

I think part of the problem is that in English, both tenses are often expressed by the same word.  'Everyday I played in the park, and I played in the park yesterday.'  The first 'played' is imperfect and means that 'I used to play in the park all the time (ongoing); the second use of the verb implies that I played in the past, but stopped playing when yesterday was finished.  I know this is a very clumsy example, but it's all I can think of for the moment.  The point is that in this case the simple past and the imperfect are the same word.  It's not necessary to say 'Everyday I used to play (or was playing) in the park, and yesterday I have played in the park.'  The tenses are just implied by the 'time words.'  
  
I'm confident that eventually, if I keep my nose to the grind, I will become more confident and spontaneous about distinguishing between the two very essential tenses.  This is probably why trying to learn a language strictly from a textbook and grammar rules is not a good idea.  You just have to learn the distinct rhythm and feel of a language; then often the grammar will just fall into place.  I've mentioned before that when French speakers ask me to explain a component of English grammar, I often find it very difficult to do so, because the structure or phrase has just become so natural after so many years of speaking English.  I often have to pull out old English grammar books in order to find an explanation that will make sense to them.  

But then this is what makes learning French fun.  It's an ongoing process and you learn something new every time you use it.  

 À la prochaine