The Imperfect Tense in French

This section explains The Imperfect Tense in French. The imperfect tense (l'imparfait) is used in French to describe actions or states that were ongoing or habitual in the past, or to set the scene. It often translates to "was doing" or "used to do" in English. It is also used to describe situations, feelings, or weather in the past.

How to Form the Imperfect Tense:

1. Start with the nous form of the present tense of the verb.
2. Remove the -ons ending.
3. Add the imperfect endings to the stem:

Examples of Conjugation:

• Parler (to speak):
  • Je parlais (I was speaking / I used to speak)
  • Tu parlais (You were speaking / You used to speak)
  • Il/Elle/On parlait (He/She/One was speaking / He/She/One used to speak)
  • Nous parlions (We were speaking / We used to speak)
  • Vous parliez (You were speaking / You used to speak)
  • Ils/Elles parlaient (They were speaking / They used to speak)
• Finir (to finish):
  • Je finissais (I was finishing / I used to finish)
  • Tu finissais (You were finishing / You used to finish)
  • Il/Elle/On finissait (He/She/One was finishing / He/She/One used to finish)
  • Nous finissions (We were finishing / We used to finish)
  • Vous finissiez (You were finishing / You used to finish)
  • Ils/Elles finissaient (They were finishing / They used to finish)
• Être (to be) – Irregular verb:
  • J'étais (I was)
  • Tu étais (You were)
  • Il/Elle/On était (He/She/One was)
  • Nous étions (We were)
  • Vous étiez (You were)
  • Ils/Elles étaient (They were)

Key Uses of the Imperfect Tense:

1. Ongoing actions or states in the past:
   • Quand j'étais jeune, je jouais au football tous les jours.
     (When I was young, I played football every day.)
2. Habitual or repeated actions:
   • Tous les étés, nous allions à la plage.
     (Every summer, we used to go to the beach.)
3. Describing background information or setting the scene:
   • Il faisait beau et les oiseaux chantaient.
     (It was nice weather and the birds were singing.)
4. Feelings, emotions, or mental states in the past:
   • Elle était triste parce qu'elle avait perdu son chat.
     (She was sad because she had lost her cat.)
5. Wishes or desires in the past:
   • Je voulais aller au parc.
     (I wanted to go to the park.)

Foundation Tier Examples:

1. Quand j’étais petit, je mangeais beaucoup de bonbons.
   (When I was little, I used to eat a lot of sweets.)
2. Nous parlions souvent de nos vacances.
   (We often spoke about our holidays.)
3. Il faisait froid hier soir.
   (It was cold last night.)
4. Tu jouais à des jeux vidéo quand j’ai appelé.
   (You were playing video games when I called.)

Higher Tier Examples:

1. Tous les dimanches, ma famille et moi, nous allions à la montagne.
   (Every Sunday, my family and I used to go to the mountains.)
2. Quand j'étais adolescent, j'écoutais toujours de la musique avant de dormir.
   (When I was a teenager, I always listened to music before going to sleep.)
3. Il faisait très chaud, donc nous avons décidé de rester à la piscine toute la journée.
   (It was very hot, so we decided to stay at the pool all day.)
4. Avant, je détestais les légumes, mais maintenant, j’aime beaucoup.
   (Before, I used to hate vegetables, but now, I really like them.)

Negative Form:

To make the imperfect tense negative, simply place ne before the verb and pas after it.

Example:

• Je ne mangeais pas de chocolat.
  (I wasn’t eating chocolate.)
• Ils ne comprenaient pas ce que je disais.
  (They didn’t understand what I was saying.)

Questions:

To form a question in the imperfect tense, you can either use est-ce que or invert the subject and verb.

Examples:

• Est-ce que tu mangeais souvent des bonbons ?
  (Did you used to eat sweets often?)
• Parlais-tu anglais quand tu étais jeune ?
  (Did you speak English when you were young?)

Key Points to Remember:

• The imperfect tense is for describing ongoing actions, habits, or situations in the past.
• It is formed by removing -ons from the present tense nous form and adding the imperfect endings.
• The verb être has an irregular stem: ét- (for example, j’étais, nous étions).
• Unlike the perfect tense, the imperfect does not indicate a completed action. Instead, it describes something that was happening or used to happen.

Important Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect Tense:

1. Être (to be)
   • J'étais (I was)
   • Nous étions (We were)
2. Avoir (to have)
   • J'avais (I had)
   • Nous avions (We had)
3. Faire (to do/make)
   • Je faisais (I was doing/making)
   • Ils faisaient (They were doing/making)
4. Aller (to go)
   • J’allais (I was going)
   • Nous allions (We were going)

Key Takeaways:

• The imperfect tense is used for past actions that were habitual, ongoing, or in progress.
• To form it, take the nous form of the verb in the present tense, remove -ons, and add the correct endings.
• The imperfect tense is an essential tense for describing past habits, background details, and feelings.