The imparfait

The imparfait
The imparfait, or imperfect, is a verb tense used for description and narration in the past.
It is often used when you are talking about how things used to be. The term “imperfect” refers to the fact that
at the time of the event you are recounting, certain actions were not complete, or in other words, were
imperfectly completed. Often, this corresponds to those times where you would use "was," "were," or “used
to” in English, such as:
J’étais jeune. (I was young.)
Nous étions contents. (We were happy.)
The imparfait describes ongoing actions or habits in the past such as:
Ma mère préparait le petit-déjeuner chaque matin. (Ma mother used to make breakfast each morning.)
Nous mangions des tartines de pain à la confiture. (We used to eat toast with jam.)
Here are more examples of the imparfait being used to mean "used to," such as:
Quand j’étais jeune, je jouais avec mon frère. (When I was young, I used to play with my brother.)
It is also used when something began in the past, but did not end at a defined moment, such as:
Il pleuvait. (It was raining.)
In French, the imperfect consists of a one-word verb form. The first step is to make the imperfect stem. For
the verb être, the imperfect stem is ét-. For all other verbs, take the present tense nous conjugation of the
verb and remove the -ons ending. This is the imparfait stem. This table will help you see these different
steps.
Infinitive form of the verb
Present tense nous form of the verb
Imperfect stem
jouer
jouons
jou-
avoir
avons
av-
finir
finissons
finiss-
attendre
attendons
attend-
Now that you have the imparfait stem, you just need to add the imparfait endings. These endings are the
same for all verbs conjugated in the imparfait. They correspond to the subject pronoun you are using.
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je
-ais
nous
-ions
tu
-ais
vous
-iez
il / elle / on
-ait
ils/ elles
-aient
So let’s take the stems we formed and add the proper endings.
Even if a verb is conjugated irregularly in the present, you will still use the present tense nous form of the
verb. The root for the verb manger would be mange-, so you would conjugate it: je mangeais. The root for
the verb étudier would be étudi-, so you would conjugate it: nous étudiions. Notice the double i of nous
étudiions.
We’ll discuss the specific differences between when to use the imparfait and the passé composé in a
future lesson. For now, practice this new tense as much as you can, familiarizing yourself with how it is
formed, and soon enough, you will be perfect at the imperfect!
© 2011 Middlebury Interactive Languages. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only. No portion of these
materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of Middlebury Interactive Languages.