Expert: Denise Pepin - 11/5/2009

Question
-Quels sont les emplois du passe compose ?
-Quand on utilise le passe compose au lieu du present de l indicatif  ?

Answer
Bonjour Talal,
Le passé composé = action passée, finie , utilisé avec un indice de temps limite (pendant, durant ....).
Présent de l'indicatif = présent, vérité générale avec le mode indicatif (pas subjonctif qui lui est très différent.

We use the "passé composé" to state actions, events in the past. When you tell a story in the past , all the verbs that indicate the events that took place are conjugated in   "passé composé"
Example : Last night,I went to the restaurant, I ate and then I went home and watched TV and then I read a book.
Hier soir, je suis allé(e) au restaurant, j'ai mangé et ensuite, je suis revenu(e) à la maison et j'ai regardé la télé et j'ai lu un livre.

You can see a movie in your head when you tell all the actions you did. (It is like saying, "First,  I did this and then I did that and then ..."
Here is a site with the "conjugaison du passé composé"

http://langues2.ups-tlse.fr/Fle/Ressources/Passe_compose.htm

The "present de l'indicatif" is the most basic tense. It represents an action that you are currently doing, a truth (we call that a general truth) or something that happens usually like ..
Now, I write (am writing) = "Maintenant, j'écris."
My dog eats every day at 8:30 = "Mon chien mange chaque jour à 8h."
In winter, in Canada it snows. " En hiver, au Canada, il neige."

http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/langstud/French/french/present/pr_emploi2.htm


So, these are the very simple basic explanations about the "passé composé" and the "présent de l'indicatif". I could write more but I think that for now, if you read this and go to the sites I gave you, you ave a good start :-D

I hope I helped you, if you need more explanations, write to me. I'll be there .
Bonne chance ...
Denise