Day 46 — Imparfait

1. Topic Introduction

The imparfait is a French past tense used mainly for:

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• habits in the past
• repeated actions in the past
• descriptions in the past
• background situations
• actions that were ongoing in the past

It is different from passé composé.

Tense	Main Idea	Example	Meaning
passé composé	completed action	J’ai mangé.	I ate
imparfait	ongoing / habitual past	Je mangeais.	I was eating / I used to eat

So, the imparfait does not usually show one finished event. It usually shows a past situation, habit, or background.

2. Main Uses of Imparfait

A. Habit in the past

French Sentence	Meaning
Je lisais tous les soirs.	I used to read every evening.
Nous mangions ici chaque semaine.	We used to eat here every week.

B. Description in the past

French Sentence	Meaning
La maison était grande.	The house was big.
Il faisait froid.	It was cold.

C. Ongoing action in the past

French Sentence	Meaning
Je travaillais.	I was working.
Elle dormait.	She was sleeping.

D. Background for another past action

French Sentence	Meaning
Je lisais quand il est arrivé.	I was reading when he arrived.
Nous dormions quand le téléphone a sonné.	We were sleeping when the phone rang.

In these examples:

• imparfait = background action
• passé composé = completed action

3. How to Form Imparfait

To form the imparfait:

Step 1

Take the present tense “nous” form of the verb.

Step 2

Remove -ons.

Step 3

Add the imperfect endings.

4. Imperfect Endings

Subject	Ending
je	-ais
tu	-ais
il / elle / on	-ait
nous	-ions
vous	-iez
ils / elles	-aient

These endings are the same for almost all verbs.

5. Example with a First Group Verb: parler

Step-by-step formation

Step	Form
Present nous form	nous parlons
Remove -ons	parl-
Add endings	parlais, parlais, parlait, parlions, parliez, parlaient

Full conjugation

Subject	Form	Meaning	Pronunciation
je	parlais	I was speaking / I used to speak	par-lay
tu	parlais	you were speaking	par-lay
il / elle / on	parlait	he / she / one was speaking	par-lay
nous	parlions	we were speaking	par-lee-yon
vous	parliez	you were speaking	par-lee-yay
ils / elles	parlaient	they were speaking	par-lay

Important:
In pronunciation, je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait, and ils parlaient sound very similar.

6. Example with a Second Group Verb: finir

Step-by-step formation

Step	Form
Present nous form	nous finissons
Remove -ons	finiss-
Add endings	finissais, finissais, finissait, finissions, finissiez, finissaient

Full conjugation

Subject	Form	Meaning
je	finissais	I was finishing / I used to finish
tu	finissais	you were finishing
il / elle / on	finissait	he / she was finishing
nous	finissions	we were finishing
vous	finissiez	you were finishing
ils / elles	finissaient	they were finishing

Important:
Second group verbs keep the -iss- stem.

7. Example with a Third Group Verb: prendre

Step-by-step formation

Step	Form
Present nous form	nous prenons
Remove -ons	pren-
Add endings	prenais, prenais, prenait, prenions, preniez, prenaient

Full conjugation

Subject	Form	Meaning
je	prenais	I was taking
tu	prenais	you were taking
il / elle / on	prenait	he / she was taking
nous	prenions	we were taking
vous	preniez	you were taking
ils / elles	prenaient	they were taking

8. The Special Verb être

Être is the main exception.

It does not use the normal “nous” stem pattern.

Its imperfect stem is:

ét-

Full conjugation of être

Subject	Form	Meaning	Pronunciation
j’	étais	I was	ay-tay
tu	étais	you were	ay-tay
il / elle / on	était	he / she was	ay-tay
nous	étions	we were	ay-tee-yon
vous	étiez	you were	ay-tee-yay
ils / elles	étaient	they were	ay-tay

This verb must be memorized carefully.

9. Common Time Expressions with Imparfait

These expressions often appear with the imperfect:

French Expression	Meaning	Pronunciation
souvent	often	soo-vahn
toujours	always	too-zhoor
chaque jour	every day	shak zhoor
habituellement	usually	ah-bee-tu-el-mahn
quand j’étais petit(e)	when I was little	kahn zhay-tay puh-tee / puh-teet
autrefois	in the past / formerly	oh-truh-fwah

10. Negative Form

The negative is simple.

Put ne … pas around the conjugated imperfect verb.

French Sentence	Meaning
Je ne parlais pas.	I was not speaking.
Nous ne finissions pas.	We were not finishing.
Elle n’était pas ici.	She was not here.

11. Question Form

Intonation

French Question	Meaning
Tu parlais ?	Were you speaking?
Elle dormait ?	Was she sleeping?

With est-ce que

French Question	Meaning
Est-ce que tu travaillais ?	Were you working?
Est-ce qu’il faisait froid ?	Was it cold?

Inversion

French Question	Meaning
Parlais-tu ?	Were you speaking?
Était-il là ?	Was he there?

12. Imparfait and Description

The imperfect is very common with:

• weather
• age
• feelings
• physical description
• background setting

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Il faisait chaud.	It was hot.
J’avais dix ans.	I was ten years old.
Elle était fatiguée.	She was tired.
La rue était calme.	The street was quiet.

13. Imparfait and Habit

The imperfect is also very common for repeated actions.

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Je prenais le bus chaque matin.	I used to take the bus every morning.
Nous regardions souvent ce film.	We used to watch that film often.
Ma grand-mère lisait beaucoup.	My grandmother used to read a lot.

14. Important Difference: Imparfait vs Passé Composé

Tense	Use	Example	Meaning
imparfait	ongoing, repeated, background	Je lisais.	I was reading / I used to read
passé composé	completed action	J’ai lu.	I read / I finished reading

Comparison examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Je lisais quand il est arrivé.	I was reading when he arrived.
Nous dormions quand le téléphone a sonné.	We were sleeping when the phone rang.

The action in imparfait is background.
The action in passé composé is the event that interrupts it.

15. Frequent Errors to Avoid

Incorrect	Correct	Reason
Je parlé	Je parlais	wrong tense form
Nous parlonsais	Nous parlions	wrong stem and ending
Je finiais	Je finissais	second group stem must keep -iss-
Il etait	Il était	accent needed

16. Vocabulary

French Word	Gender	Meaning	Pronunciation
la maison	feminine	house	may-zon
le jardin	masculine	garden	zhar-dan
la rue	feminine	street	ry
le livre	masculine	book	leevr
la pluie	feminine	rain	plwee
le vent	masculine	wind	vahn
la fenêtre	feminine	window	fuh-netr
le téléphone	masculine	telephone	tay-lay-fon
la table	feminine	table	tabl
le travail	masculine	work	ترا-vai

17. Mini Paragraph

Quand j’étais enfant, nous habitions dans une petite maison. Chaque soir, je lisais près de la fenêtre. En hiver, il faisait froid et nous restions souvent à l’intérieur.

Meaning:

When I was a child, we lived in a small house. Every evening, I used to read near the window. In winter, it was cold and we often stayed inside.

18. Memory Practice

French Sentence	Meaning
Je parlais doucement.	I was speaking softly.
Tu finissais le travail.	You were finishing the work.
Il prenait le train.	He was taking the train.
Nous étions ici.	We were here.
Vous lisiez beaucoup.	You used to read a lot.
Ils habitaient à Paris.	They lived in Paris.
Elle ne parlait pas.	She was not speaking.

Summary Notes

Concept	Key Rule
main use	habit, description, ongoing past
formation	present nous form minus -ons + endings
endings	-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
second group	keep -iss- stem
special verb	être uses stem ét-
negative	ne … pas around the verb
question	normal question structures apply
contrast	imparfait = background, passé composé = completed event
key learning point	always build from the present nous form, except être

The most important lesson here is this: for almost every verb, the imparfait becomes easy when you first find the present nous form and then add the imperfect endings.