The imparfait describes how things were and what used to happen: j’étais, je parlais, il faisait. The stem is the nous form of the present without ‑ons; only être is an exception: Je parlais avec Léa. J’étais content.
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form | the nous stem without ‑ons + ‑ais / ‑ais / ‑ait / ‑ions / ‑iez / ‑aient | Je parlais avec Léa. | I was talking to Léa. | |
| Form of être | être: étais / étais / était / étions / étiez / étaient | Nous étions amis. | We were friends. | |
| C’était, il y avait | c’était / il y avait / il faisait | C’était bien. | It was good. | |
| Describing | the scene: people, places, weather, age | J’avais dix ans. | I was ten. | |
| Habit | what people did regularly, without counting the times | Chaque été, nous allions à la mer. | Every summer we went to the seaside. | |
| Action in progress | an action in progress: neither start nor end | Je regardais la télé. | I was watching TV. | |
| Signal words | avant / autrefois / souvent / d’habitude / toujours | Avant, j’habitais à Nice. | I used to live in Nice. | |
| Spelling | ‑ger → ‑geais, ‑cer → ‑çais; no e or ç with nous and vous | Je mangeais tôt. / Nous mangions tard. | I used to eat early. / We used to eat late. | |
| Pronunciation | ais, ait, aient: always /ɛ/ | Il parlait. / Ils parlaient. | He was speaking. / They were speaking. | |
| Trap | je becomes j’ before étais and avais | J’étais fatigué. | I was tired. | |
| Trap | age takes avoir: j’avais, not j’étais | Elle avait douze ans. | She was twelve. |
Overview
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- The imparfait describes the scene: how people, places and the weather were. Il faisait beau et la maison était calme.The weather was fine and the house was quiet.
- It also tells what people did regularly, without counting the times. Le dimanche, nous mangions chez ma grand-mère.On Sundays we ate at my grandmother's.
- It shows an action in progress: neither its start nor its end is in view. Je lisais dans ma chambre.I was reading in my room.
- For a finished event, the past uses the passé composé: Passé Composé: j’ai mangé.
- The choice between the two past tenses: Passé Composé or Imperfect.
Form: the endings
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| Person | parler | finir | faire | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | parlais | finissais | faisais | |
| tu | parlais | finissais | faisais | |
| il / elle / on | parlait | finissait | faisait | |
| nous | parlions | finissions | faisions | |
| vous | parliez | finissiez | faisiez | |
| ils / elles | parlaient | finissaient | faisaient |
- The endings are the same for every verb; the stem comes from nous parlons, nous finissons, nous faisons. Tu finissais à six heures. / Ils prenaient le bus.You finished at six. / They took the bus.
- Before a vowel, je becomes j’: j’avais, j’allais. J’allais à l’école à pied.I walked to school.
Form: être, avoir and aller
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| Person | être | avoir | aller | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étais | avais | allais | |
| tu | étais | avais | allais | |
| il / elle / on | était | avait | allait | |
| nous | étions | avions | allions | |
| vous | étiez | aviez | alliez | |
| ils / elles | étaient | avaient | allaient |
- Être is the only verb with a stem of its own: ét-. J’étais petit. / Nous étions amis.I was small. / We were friends.
Spelling: ‑ger and ‑cer
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| Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbs in ‑ger: e before a, none before i. | Je mangeais à midi. / Nous mangions tard. | I used to eat at noon. / We used to eat late. | |
| Verbs in ‑cer: ç before a, c before i. | Elle commençait à huit heures. / Nous commencions à neuf heures. | She used to start at eight. / We used to start at nine. |
Pronunciation: the endings
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- The endings ais, ait and aient are all pronounced /ɛ/. Il parlait. / Ils parlaient.He was speaking. / They were speaking.
- With nous and vous, the ending is heard: /ljɔ̃/ and /lje/. Nous parlions. / Vous parliez.We were speaking. / You were speaking.
- In faisais, fais- is said /fəz/. Je faisais du sport. / Il faisait beau.I used to do sport. / The weather was fine.
C’était, il y avait, il faisait
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| c’était + adjective: an opinion about the past | C’était bien. / C’était très bon. | It was good. / It was very tasty. | |
| c’était + noun: saying what something was | C’était un grand jardin. | It was a big garden. | |
| il y avait: what existed | Il y avait beaucoup de monde. | There were a lot of people. | |
| il faisait + beau / chaud / froid: the weather | Il faisait chaud. / Il faisait froid. | It was hot. / It was cold. | |
| il pleuvait, il neigeait: rain and snow | Il pleuvait et le vent soufflait. | It was raining and the wind was blowing. |
- In the present: C’est and Il est and There Is: il y a.
Use
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Describing a person, a thing, a place | Ma grand-mère était petite et avait les cheveux blancs. | My grandmother was small and had white hair. | |
| Age, time and states | J’avais dix ans. / Il était huit heures. / Elle était fatiguée. | I was ten. / It was eight o'clock. / She was tired. | |
| A habit in the past | Chaque été, nous allions à la mer. | Every summer we went to the seaside. | |
| An action in progress in the past | Je regardais la télé. / Il dormait. | I was watching TV. / He was sleeping. |
Signal words
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| Time word | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| avant, autrefois, à cette époque | Avant, j’habitais à Nice. | I used to live in Nice. | |
| quand j’étais petit, quand j’avais dix ans | Quand j’étais petit, je jouais au foot. | When I was little, I played football. | |
| toujours, souvent, d’habitude, tous les jours | D’habitude, nous mangions à sept heures. | Usually we ate at seven. | |
| le lundi, le soir, chaque été | Le soir, elle lisait un livre. | In the evening she read a book. |
- A time word alone does not choose the past tense: Passé Composé or Imperfect.
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je étais fatigué. | J’étais fatigué. | je becomes j’ before étais | |
| Il parlais. | Il parlait. | with il the ending is ait; ais goes with je and tu | |
| Ils parlait. | Ils parlaient. | ils and elles take aient | |
| Nous mangeions. | Nous mangions. | with nous and vous, no e before i | |
| Il commencait à pleuvoir. | Il commençait à pleuvoir. | ç before a keeps the sound /s/ | |
| Quand j’étais petit, j’ai joué dehors. | Quand j’étais petit, je jouais dehors. | a regular habit in the past takes the imparfait, even when English says “played” | |
| J’étais dix ans. | J’avais dix ans. | age is said with avoir: j’avais dix ans, literally “I had ten years” |