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The imparfait (continuous past) emphasises the progression or the regular repetition of an action
in the past.
Usage
Construction
We take the present-tense stem of the 1st person plural and add the following endings (identical
for verbs of all groups):
er-verbs
(nous
aimons)
person
ir-verbs
(nous
finissons)*
ir-verbs
(nous
dormons)**
re-verbs
(nous
vendons)
1st person
singular
jaimais
je finissais
je dormais
je vendais
2nd person
singular
tu aimais
tu finissais
tu dormais
tu vendais
3rd person
singular
il/elle/on aimait
il/elle/on finissait
il/elle/on dormait
il/elle/on vendait
nous aimions
nous finissions
nous dormions
nous vendions
vous aimiez
vous finissiez
vous dormiez
vous vendiez
ils/elles
aimaient
ils/elles finissaient
ils/elles dormaient
ils/elles
vendaient
* Most ir-verbs are conjugated like finir. Choisir, ragir, rflchir and russir belong to this group.
Here we add an -iss- to the word stem in the plural forms.
** Most ir-verbs that are not conjugated like finir, are conjugated
like dormir. Mentir, partir and sentir are part of this group. We don't add -iss- to form the plural.
The verb avoir is regular. Only tre is constructed irregularly in the imparfait.
person
avoir
tre
javais
jtais
tu avais
tu tais
il/elle/on avait
il/elle/on tait
nous avions
nous tions
vous aviez
vous tiez
ils/elles avaient
ils/elles taient
For verbs that end in cer, the present form in the 1st person plural is constructed with (in
order to preserve the soft c sound). This remains unchanged in the imparfait (except in
the 1st and 2nd person plural).
Example:
lancernous lanons
je lanais, tu lanais, il lanait, nous lancions, vous lanciez, ils lanaient
For verbs that end in ger, the present form in the 1st person plural is constructed with e (in
order to preserve the soft g sound). This e remains unchanged in the imparfait (except in
the 1st and 2nd person plural).
Example:
mangernous mangeons
je mangeais, tu mangeais, il mangeait, nous mangions, vous mangiez, ils mangeaient
The verbs falloir and pleuvoir, which are only used in the 3rd person singular, are
conjugated like this in the imparfait:
Example:
falloir il fallait
pleuvoir il pleuvait
In a nutshell, the imparfait is used for incomplete actions while the pass compos is reserved for
completed ones, but of course its more complicated than that.
Incomplete v
s
Complete
Jtais lcole.
I was at school.
I arrived early.
I was doing my
homework.
I finished my
homework.
Uncounted v
s
Counted
Jtudiais le lundi.
I used to study on
Mondays.
I studied on (a
specific) Monday.
Je perdais constamment
mon livre.
Ongoing v
s
New
Jaimais lcole.
En ce moment,
jai dtest lcole.
I liked school.
At that moment, I
hated school.
Jai t inspir
par ton succs.
I was (became)
inspired by your
success.
Background + Event
Imparfait describes what was happening or how
something was when
il a commenc
pleuvoir.
it started raining.
mon ami ma
pos une
question.
my friend asked
me a question.
but
To give you an idea of how these tenses work, together and separately, here are three similar stories
using each tense individually and then both together.
Histoire limparfait
Quand jtais lycen, jtudiais tous les jours. Je
voulais tre accept dans une grande cole
parce que je souhaitais tre politicien. Je lisais
les journaux rgulirement et je commentais
constamment lactualit en compagnie de mes
amis.
Some words and phrases are virtually always used with the imparfait, while others seem to stick
like glue to the pass compos. These lists can help you determine which tense you need in any
given sentence.
Imparfait
Pass compos
le week-end
on the weekends
un week-end
one weekend
le lundi, le mardi
on Mondays, on
Tuesdays
lundi, mardi
on Monday, on
Tuesday
every day
un jour
one day
le matin, le soir
un matin, un soir
toujours
toujours
normalement,
dhabitude
usually
plusieurs fois
several times
en gnral,
gnralement
in general, generally
once, twice
souvent
often
soudain,
soudainement
suddenly
parfois, quelquefois
sometimes
all of a sudden
de temps en temps
dabord
first
rarement
rarely
ensuite, puis
next, then
autrefois
formerly
enfin
finally
finalement
in the end
Remember that in literature and other formal writing, the pass simple takes the place of
the pass compos.