imparfait grammar in French

Language: French
Level: B1
Unit: Temps et modes verbaux
Practice types: 0

What this grammar point covers

The imparfait is a French past tense used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, background information, or situations that lasted for a while.

When to use it

Use the imparfait to describe habits in the past, ongoing actions, background situations, physical or emotional states, and situations that were happening when something else occurred.

Key forms

Take the 'nous' form of the present tense, remove '-ons', and add: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
Example: parler → nous parlons → je parlais, tu parlais, il/elle parlait, nous parlions, vous parliez, ils/elles parlaient

Examples

Quand j'étais petit, je jouais dans le jardin.

English: When I was little, I used to play in the garden.

Il faisait froid hier soir.

English: It was cold last night.

Nous regardions la télévision quand le téléphone a sonné.

English: We were watching TV when the phone rang.

Elle lisait chaque matin.

English: She used to read every morning.

Tips

The imparfait is not used for actions that happened only once or started and finished quickly. Use passé composé for those.
Look for time expressions like 'toujours', 'souvent', 'chaque jour', which often indicate the imparfait.
Remember that 'être' is regular in the imparfait: j'étais, tu étais, etc.

Exceptions and edge cases

The verb 'être' has an irregular stem: ét- (j'étais, tu étais, etc.).
Verbs like 'manger' add an 'e' in the 'nous' and 'vous' forms: nous mangions, vous mangiez.