L’imparfait

(The imperfect tense)

Le Passé Composé is used to describe completed actions of

specific past events.

L’Imparfait is a past verb tense that is used to describe:

• What people or things were like

• Repeated or habitual actions in the past; what used to happen

• General conditions in the past; to tell what was going on

• Weather conditions

The imperfect can be translated as:

…was/were ______(verb)______ ing

oror

…used to ____(verb)___________

To form the imparfait:

1.Conjugate the verb in the present tense “nous” form.

ex – regarder nous regardons

2. Drop the “-ons” to form the stem.

regardons regard-

3. Then, add the following endings:

je -ais

tu -ais

il/elle/on -ait

nous -ions

vous -iez

ils/elles -aient

Examples:

1. écouter nous écoutons

2. stem écout

3. Add the following endings:

j’écoutais

tu écoutais

il écoutais

nous écoutions

vous écoutiez

elles écoutaient

Examples: Où est-ce que tu habitais avant?

J’habitais à Chicago.

Qu’est-ce que vous faisiez à six heures?

Nous finissions nos devoirs.

The imperfect can be translated as:

Where did you live before?

I lived (used to live) in Chicago.

What were you doing at 6?

We were finishing our homework.

Irregular Stems in the Imperfect:

être ét-

avoir av-

Examples:

1. Quand j’étais jeune, ma famille habitait à la campagne.

2. Quand nous avions huit ans, ma soeur et moi, nous faisions du roller en ligne.

Can you translate these into English?