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French Imperfect ~ Imparfait

Usage

Uses | Conjugations | Quiz

The French imperfect (imparfait) is a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of being or a repeated or incomplete action. The beginning and end of the state of being or action are not indicated, and the imparfait is very often translated in English as "was" or "was ___-ing."

The imperfect can indicate any of the following:

I.	Habitual actions or states of being
	Quand j'étais petit, nous allions à la plage chaque semaine.	When I was young, we used to go to the beach every week.
	L'année dernière, je travaillais avec mon père.	I worked with my father last year.
II.	Physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings
	Il était midi et il faisait beau.	It was noon and the weather was nice.
	Quand il avait 5 ans, il avait toujours faim.	When he was five, he was always hungry.
III.	Actions or states of an unspecified duration
	Je faisais la queue parce que j'avais besoin de billets.	I stood in line because I needed tickets.
	Il espérait te voir avant ton départ.	He was hoping to see you before you left.
IV.	Background information in conjunction with the passé composé
	J'étais au marché et j'ai acheté des pommes.	I was at the market and I bought some apples.
	Il était à la banque quand il l'a trouvé.	He was at the bank when he found it.
V.	Wishes or suggestions
	Ah ! Si j'étais riche !	Oh, if only I were rich!
	Si nous sortions ce soir ?	How about going out tonight?
VI.	Conditions in si clauses
	Si j'avais de l'argent, j'irais avec toi.	If I had some money, I would go with you.
	S'il voulait venir, il trouverait le moyen.	If he wanted to come, he would find a way.
VII.	The expressions être en train de and venir de in the past.
	J'étais en train de faire la vaisselle.	I was (in the process of) doing the dishes.
	Il venait d'arriver.	He had just arrived. Passé composé - French Compound Past Tense Le passé composé is the most common French past tense, often used in conjunction with the imparfait. The passé composé is used to express: I.  An action or state of being completed in the past As-tu étudié ce weekend ? Did you study this weekend? Ils ont déjà mangé. They have already eaten.   II.  An action repeated a specific number of times in the past Hier, j'ai mangé cinq fois. I ate five times yesterday. Nous avons visité Paris plusieurs fois. We've visited Paris several times.   III.  A series of actions completed in the past Samedi, il a vu sa mère, a parlé au médicin et a trouvé un chat. Saturday he saw his mother, talked to the doctor, and found a cat.    The passé composé has three English equivalents: I danced     I have danced  }  J'ai dansé I did dance     The passé composé is a compound verb. It is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb (either avoir or être) plus the past participle of the main verb. Note that when the auxiliary verb is être, the past participle must agree with the subject, and when it's avoir, it may have to agree with its direct object (learn more). AIMER j' ai aimé    nous avons aimé tu as aimé vous avez aimé il elle a aimé ils elles ont aimé           DEVENIR (être verb) je suis devenu(e)    nous sommes devenu(e)s tu es devenu(e) vous êtes devenu(e)(s) il est devenu ils sont devenus elle est devenue elles sont devenues           SE LAVER (pronominal verb) je me suis lavé(e) nous nous sommes lavé(e)s tu t'es lavé(e) vous   vous êtes lavé(e)(s) il s'est lavé ils se sont lavés elle  s'est lavée elles se sont lavées