Imperfect Tense
This past tense corresponds to"was, were or used to." This tense is used for repeated, continuous, orongoing actions; as well as for verbs that describe background andcircumstances, such as weather, time, and physical, mental, andemotional states. Use the passé composé for actions that happened onceand are done. However, verbs that express mental and emotional statesthat are descriptive in nature are generally used in the imperfect in apast context. These verbs are: aimer, avoir, croire, détester,espérer, être, penser, and préférer.
To form the stem, use the nousform of the present tense and drop the -ons. Then add these endings:
|
-ais |
-ions |
|
-ais |
-iez |
|
-ait |
-aient |
The only exception is être in which you must use the stem ét-, but still the same endings. Verbstems that end in -c must use a cedilla (ç) under the c to make it soft.Verbs stems endings in -g keep the e before all forms except nous andvous.
|
être |
|||
|
étais |
ay-teh |
étions |
ay-tee-ohn |
|
étais |
ay-teh |
étiez |
ay-tee-ay |
|
était |
ay-teh |
étaient |
ay-teh |
|
commencer |
|||
|
commençais |
koh-mawn-seh |
commencions |
koh-mawn-see-ohn |
|
commençais |
koh-mawn-seh |
commenciez |
koh-mawn-see-ay |
|
commençait |
koh-mawn-seh |
commençaient |
koh-mawn-say |
|
manger |
|||
|
mangeais |
mawn-zheh |
mangions |
mawn-zhee-ohn |
|
mangeais |
mawn-zheh |
mangiez |
mawn-zhee-ay |
|
mangeait |
mawn-zheh |
mangeaient |
mawn-zhay |
Avoir,Devoir, Pouvoir, Savoir, and Vouloir These verbschange meanings, according to whether they are used in the imperfect orthe passé composé.
|
Imperfect |
Passé Composé |
|||
|
avoir |
j'avais |
I had |
j'ai eu |
I got, received |
|
devoir |
je devais |
I was supposed to |
j'ai dû |
I must have, I had to (and did) |
|
pouvoir |
je pouvais |
I was capable |
j'ai pu je n'ai pas pu |
I was able to (and did), succeededI couldn't,failed |
|
savoir |
je savais |
I knew |
j'ai su |
I found out, discovered |
|
vouloir |
je voulais |
I wanted to |
j'ai voulu je n'ai pas voulu |
I tried, decided, insisted I refused |
The imperfect tense is alsoused with these constructions:
|
être en train de + infinitive |
|
|
J'étais en train d'étudier quand vous êtesarrivés. |
I was (in the process of ) studying whenyou arrived |
|
aller + infinitive |
|
|
J'allais sortir quand le téléphone a sonné. |
I was going to leave when the phone rang. |
|
venir de + infinitive |
|
|
Je venais de manger, alors je n'avais plus faim. |
I had just eaten, so I wasn't hungryanymore. |
