regarder at A2 — the past tenses
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Two pasts: an evening’s viewing, or a habit.
Watching in the past
J’ai regardé is a finished session: « hier soir, j’ai regardé un film ». It is the natural answer to “what did you do last night?”.
The imperfect je regardais either describes a habit — « je regardais des dessins animés le mercredi » — or sets a scene interrupted by something else: « je regardais la télé quand il a appelé ». That second use is the classic A2 structure: imperfect for the background, passé composé for the interruption.
💡 Focus at this level: Past — what you watched
👨🏫 How to use « regarder » at this level
1. Finished session = passé composé.
2. Background scene = imperfect. Then the interruption arrives in the passé composé.
3. Drill the pair. « Je regardais… quand il a… » is worth automating.
🎮 Practise « regarder »
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