Transcript L’imparafait – the imperfect

L’imparfait – the imperfect
The Imperfect Tense
The Imperfect Tense is used to describe:
1.
2.
3.
a state in the past,
a repeated action in the past or
how things used to be.
Common trigger words for the Imperfect
Tense are:was, were, used to.
The Imperfect Tense

In order to form the Imperfect Tense in
French, you
1. find the 1st person plural (nous) form
of the Present Tense
2. remove the - ons
3. add on the endings:je …
ais
tu …
ais
il /elle/on … ait
nous …
vous …
ils/elles …
ions
iez
aient
The Imperfect Tense - parler

So for the verb parler, it would be
nous
parlons
parl
parlais
etc.
parler – to speak
French
English

je parlais

I was speaking, I used to speak

tu parlais

you were speaking, you used to speak

il/elle/on parlait

(s)he was speaking, 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
aller – to go
French
English

j’allais

I was going, I used to go

tu allais

you were going, you used to go

il/elle/on allait

(s)he was going, oneused to go

nous allions

we were going, we used to go

vous alliez

you were going, you used to go

ils/elles allaient

they were going, they used to go
être - to be

The only verb which is irregular in the
Imperfect Tense is être, whose stem is ét...

So the whole of the Imperfect Tense of être
is:
être
French
English

j’étais

I was, I used to be

tu étais

you were, you used to be

il/elle/on était

(s)he was, one used to be

nous étions

we were, we used to be

vous étiez

you were, you used to be

ils/elles étaient

they were, they used to be
– ger and – cer verbs

Care must also be taken with verbs ending in
-ger and -cer.

In the 1st person plural of the present tense
of these verbs, they are:
–
–
nous mangeons and
nous lançons.
– ger and – cer verbs

This has implications for the Imperfect
Tense.

Whenever the ending of the Imperfect starts
with an i, you either
 drop the e or
 drop the cedilla (hook) from the ç
The Imperfect Tense of
manger
French
English

je mangeais

I was eating, I used to eat

tu mangeais

you were eating, you used to eat

il/elle/on mangeait

(s)he was eating, one used to eat

nous mangions

we were eating, we used to eat

vous mangiez

you were eating, you used to eat

ils/elles mangeaient

they were eating, they used to eat
The Imperfect Tense of
lancer
French
English

je lançais

I was throwing, I used to throw

tu lançais

you were throwing, you used to throw

il/elle/on lançait

(s)he was throwing, one used to throw

nous lancions

we were throwing, we used to throw

vous lanciez

you were throwing, you used to throw

ils/elles lançaient

they were throwing, they used to throw