Temps du passé: L'imparfait (Imperfect French Tense)
The Imperfect
L’imparfait
When to use the L'imparfait:
The imperfect tense is used when there were habitual actions or states of being.
Ex. I worked by myself last year (Something that happened everyday or so the whole last year)
Physical and emotional descriptions of time, weather, age, and feelings
Ex. It was 3 o’clock and the weather was nice - (This is talking about how nice the weather was)
Ex. When she was 10, she was always hungry (Something that happened everyday when she was 10)
Actions or states of being with unspecified duration
Ex. I stood in line because I needed tickets (You don’t know how long he stood on the line)
Ex. My mom was hoping to see me before I left (we don’t have information of how long and when)
Background information in conjunction with the passé composé (interruption)
Ex. I was at the market and I bought some apples (You were in the process of going to the market)
(notice how we use the imperfect in English as well by saying “was”)
Wishes or suggestions
Ex. Oh! If I were rich
Ex. How about we go out tonight?
Conditions with the “si” clause = which translates to “if”
Ex. If i had money, I would go with you.
Ex. If he wanted to come, he would find a way.
The expressions “être en train de” and “venir de” in the past. They translate to “being in the process of” and “coming from”
Ex. I was (in the process of) doing dishes
Ex. He had just arrived
(-A trick to conjugating is to know the present form of the verb in “nous”) Present: Finissions = all the pronouns are going to be conjugated with this as a stem)
How to Conjugate
Regular French Conjugation: Ending in “-er”
There are two possibilities, however to tell which one to use, we must look at the stem of the word. For instance the verb “étudier” once we take the “-er” ending it stays with an “i” at the end. This “i” stays and when one conjugates “nous & vous” it will have two “i’s”
Let’s start with present indicative tense of the verb “PARLER” which translates to “To Speak” & ÉTUDIER “To Study” :
Here we take off the “-er” ending and adding those of the imperfect tense:
Parler: Parl- Étudier: Étudi-
(present “nous”= parlons”= parl-) (present “nous” = étudions”= étudi-)
Je: drop the “-er” and add an “ais” Je: drop the “-er” and add an “ais”
Tu: drop the “-er” and add “ais” Tu: drop the “-er” and add “ais”
Elle/Il/On: drop the “-er” and add an “ait” Elle/Il/On: drop the “-er” and add an “ait”
Nous: drop the “-er” and add the “ions” Nous: drop the “-er” and add the “ions”
Vous: drop the “-er” and add “iez” Vous: drop the “-er” and add “iez”
Ils/Elles: drop the “-er” and add “aient” Ils/Elles: drop the “-er” and add “aient”
Parler Manger Étudier
Je parlais Je mangeais J’étudiais
Tu parlais Tu mangeais Tu étudiais
Elle/Il/On parlait Elle/Il/On mangeait Elle/ On / Il étudiait
Nous parlions Nous mangions Nous étudiions (there are two i’s)
Vous parliez Vous mangiez Vous étudiiez (there are two i’s)
Ils/Elles parlaient Ils/Elles mangeaient Ils/Elles étudiaient
Now no matter what the verb: Chanter (to sing), danser (to dance), commencer (to start), etc (it will always conjugate the same) (the key is to follow the “nous” rule and to add the endings)
Regular French Conjugation: Ending in “-ir”
A trick to conjugating is to know the present form of the verb in “nous” (Present: Finissions = all the pronouns are going to be conjugated with this as a stem)-this rule is also true for irregular verbs)
Let’s start with present tense of the verb “Finir” which translates to “To finish”:
Here we take off the “-ir” ending and adding those of the present tense:
(regular) (irregular)
Finir: Fin- Partir: Part-
(present “nous” = finissons = finiss-) (present “nous” = partons = part-)
Je: drop the “-ir” and add an “issais” Je: drop the “-ir” and add an “ais”
Tu: drop the “-ir” and add “issais” Tu: drop the “-ir” and add “ais”
Il/Elle/On: drop the “-ir” and add an “issait” Il/Elle/On: drop the “-ir” and add an “ait”
Nous: drop the “-ir” and add the “issons” Nous: drop the “-ir” and add the “ions”
Vous: drop the “-ir” and add “issez” Vous: drop the “-ir” and add “iez”
Ils/Elles: drop the “-ir” and add “ íssaient ” Ils/Elles: drop the “-ir” and add “ aíent ”
Finir Partir
Je finissais Je partais
Tu finissais Tu partais
Elle/Il/On finissait Elle/Il/On partait
Nous finissions Nous partions
Vous finissiez Vous partiez
Elles/Ils finissaient Elles/Ils partaient
Now no matter what the verb: Choisir (to choose), réussir (to succeed), agir (to act), etc (it will always conjugate the same,)-(the trick is to know the “nous” in present tense and you will always know how to conjugate)
Regular French Conjugation: Ending in “-re”
A trick to conjugating is to know the present form of the verb in “nous” (Present: nous = all the pronouns are going to be conjugated with this as a stem)-this rule is also true for irregular verbs)
Let’s start with present tense of the verb “Vendre” which translates to “To Sell”:
Here we take off the “-re” ending and adding those of the present tense:
Vendre: Vend-
(present “nous” = vendons = vend-)
Je: drop the “-re” and add an “ais”
Tu: drop the “-re” and add “ais”
Elle/Il/On: drop the “-re” and add an “ait”
Nous: drop the “-re” and add the “ions”
Vous: drop the “-re” and add “iez”
Elles/Ils: drop the “-re” and add “aient”
Je vendais
Tu vendais
Elle/ Il/ On vendait
Nous vendions
Vous vendiez
Elles/ Ils vendaient
Now no matter what the verb: Descendre (to come down), perdre (to lose), entendre (to hear), etc (it will always conjugate the same) (the key is to follow the “nous” rule and to add the endings)
Être = The only irregular verb in the imperfect
With this verb, you cannot follow the “nous” rule - one must memorize it (the imperfect endings do stay however.)
J'étais
Tu étais
Elle/ Il/ On était
Nous étions
Vous étiez
Elles/ Ils étaient
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