L'Imparfait

French Grammar: L'Imparfait

The Imperfect Tense • Description & Habitual Actions

What is L'Imparfait? The imperfect tense is a French past tense used to describe ongoing, habitual, or repeated past actions, as well as backgrounds, settings, and states of mind. Think of it as the "was/were doing" or "used to do" tense in English.

1. When to Use L'Imparfait (Usage)

Unlike the Passé Composé (which handles specific, completed actions), the Imparfait is used for:

• Descriptions & Settings: Weather, age, feelings, appearance, and time in the past.
• Habitual Actions: Things you "used to" do regularly.
• Ongoing Actions: Actions that were in progress when something else happened ("was walking").

Examples:

• Quand j'étais jeune, je jouais au foot.
  When I was young, I used to play soccer. (Habit/Description)
• Il faisait beau et les oiseaux chantaient.
  It was beautiful weather and the birds were singing. (Setting)
• Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné.
  I was sleeping when the phone rang. (Ongoing action interrupted by Passé Composé)

2. How to Form L'Imparfait (Formation)

The beauty of the imperfect tense is its extreme regularity. With only one exception in the entire language, every verb follows the exact same formula.

Formula: [Nous form of Present Tense] minus [-ons] + [Imparfait Endings]

Step-by-Step Example with PARLER (To Speak):

1. Conjugate the verb in the present tense nous form: Nous parlons
2. Drop the -ons ending to get your stem: parl-
3. Add the universal Imparfait endings:

Subject Pronoun	Ending	Conjugated Example (Parler)	English Translation
Je (I)	-ais	je parlais	I was speaking / used to speak
Tu (You, sing.)	-ais	tu parlais	You were speaking / used to speak
Il / Elle / On (He/She/One)	-ait	il parlait	He was speaking / used to speak
Nous (We)	-ions	nous parlions	We were speaking / used to work
Vous (You, pl./formal)	-iez	vous parliez	You were speaking / used to speak
Ils / Elles (They)	-aient	ils parlaient	They were speaking / used to speak

3. The Only Irregular Verb: ÊTRE (To Be)

Because the present tense nous form of être is nous sommes (which doesn't end in -ons), it cannot provide the stem. Instead, être has its own unique stem: ét-. However, it still uses the exact same endings!

Subject	Être Conjugation	English Meaning
Je	j'étais	I was / used to be
Tu	tu étais	You were / used to be
Il/Elle/On	il était	He/She/One was / used to be
Nous	nous étions	We were / used to be
Vous	vous étiez	You were / used to be
Ils/Elles	ils étaient	They were / used to be

4. Minor Spelling Traps (-ger and -cer verbs)

Watch your pronunciation! Verbs ending in -ger (like manger) and -cer (like lancer) need minor spelling modifications to keep their soft "g" and "c" sounds before endings that start with "a".

MANGER (To Eat) - Retains the "e" before 'a'

• Je mangeais (Not: mangais)
• Nous mangions (The "i" naturally softens the "g", so no extra "e" is needed!)

COMMENCER (To Begin) - Takes a cedilla (ç) before 'a'

• Je commençais (Not: commencais)
• Nous commencions (The "i" naturally softens the "c", so no cedilla is needed!)

Summary Quiz Check

To use the Imparfait flawlessly, just remember:

1. Find the present nous form.
2. Chop off -ons.
3. Glue on: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
4. Only être breaks the stem rule!