Online French courses

level A1 to C1

​​

How to use the imparfait in French

​

The past tenses in French

​

The different past tenses in French do not necessarily correspond to the English past tenses. Among them, we find the passé composé, the imparfait, the passé simple, the plus-que-parfait, the passé antérieur... This module focuses only on the imparfait for the other tenses, just have a look at the corresponding modules!

​​

So, let's start. The imparfait can be translated in different ways :

I used to eat a lot = je mangeais beaucoup (habit in the past)
He was running when I saw him = Il courait quand je l'ai vu (action going on at a certain moment in the past)

Two centuries ago, people didn't have cars = Les gens n'avaient pas de voitures il y a deux siècles. (a state in the past)

​

The context will tell you how the verb in the imparfait is to be understood.

​

How to build the imparfait?

​

The basic rule is: ​​

- take the stem of the verb in the present tense with the first person plural (the stem of the verb with "we" in the present tense)

- add the following endings according to the subject:

​

je  -ais

tu  -ais

il/elle/on  -ait

nous  -ions

vous  -iez

ils/elles  -aient

​

Good to know! For ils/elles, the -ent is mute. This means that -aient is simply pronounced "è", like -ais and -ait

​

Let's take an example with a verb for each of the three groups.

 

1st group: verbs ending in -er , like arriver (to arrive/to happen)

- In the present tense with "we", it is nous arrivons. By removing the -ons, we have the stem arriv, which will be used for the imparfait. Then we add the correct endings :

​

je arriv +ais = j'arrivais

tu arriv +ais = tu arrivais

il/elle/on arriv + ait = il/elle/on arrivait

nous arriv +ions = nous arrivions

vous arriv +iez = vous arriviez

ils/elles arriv +aient = ils/elles arrivaient

​

2nd group, verbs ending in -ir following the pattern of  finir (to finish / to end)

- In the present tense with "we", it is nous finissons. By removing the -ons, we have the stem finiss, which will be used for the imparfait. Then we add the correct endings:

​

je finiss +ais = je finissais

tu finiss +ais = tu finissais

il/elle/on finiss +ait = il/elle/on finissait

nous finiss +ions = nous finissions

vous finiss +iez = vous finissiez

ils/elles finiss +aient = ils/elles finissaient

​

3rd group, irregular verbs. Let's do it with prendre (to take)

- In the present tense with "we", it is nous prenons. By removing the -ons, we have the stem pren, which will be used for the imparfait. Then we add the correct endings:

​

je pren +ais = je prenais

tu pren +ais = tu prenais

il/elle/on pren +ait = il/elle/on prenait

nous pren +ions = nous prenions

vous pren +iez = vous preniez

ils/elles pren +aient = ils/elles prenaient

​

As you can see with those three examples, the imparfait is one of the easiest tense to use in French as it follows just one pattern. The only irregular verb is être (to be):

​

j'étais

tu étais

il/elle/on était

nous étions

vous étiez

ils/elles étaient

​

Three particular cases

​

The verbs ending in -cer takes ç with "we" in the present tense, like avancer (to move forward / go forward) = nous avançons. If we follow the rule to build the imparfait, the stem should retain the ç, which is the case except for nous and vous. The reason is that ç can only appear before a or o, but never before e, i or u. Thus:

​

j'avançais

tu avançais

il/elle/on avançait

nous avancions

vous avanciez

ils/elles avançaient

​

Verbs in -ger have a similar irregularity. Let's have a look at manger (to eat). In the present tense, it is nous mangeons. The stem used for the imparfait is mange. However, ge can appear only before a and o, but never before e, i or u. Thus, the e is removed for nous and vous:

​

je mangeais

tu mangeais

il/elle/on mangeait

nous mangions

vous mangiez

ils/elles mangeaient

​

falloir (to express a necessity) and pleuvoir (to rain) exist only with il and don't have a form with nous. In the imparfait, they will become il fallait and il pleuvait.

​

When to use the imparfait?

​​

The imparfait is used in four past contexts:

​

- to express two simultaneous actions in the past

Example: Lorsque vous étiez à Saint-Malo, je séjournais à Cannes. = When you were in Saint-Malo, I was staying in Cannes.

The first action "être à Saint-Malo" was happening at the same time as the second action "séjourner à Cannes".

​​

​- to express a habit or a repeated action in the past:

Example: Au Moyen Age, les hivers étaient rudes. = In the Middle-Ages, winters were harsh.

Those winters were "repeated", or it was usual in the past (the Middle Ages) to have a harsh winter.

 

Example: Quand j'étais petite, je jouais dans le jardin. = When I was a child, I played / used to play in the garden.

Here we have a habit in the past ("used to play") which is now finished.

​

- to express that an action was going on at a certain moment in the past (equivalent to past continuous in English):

Example: La nuit tombait... = Night was falling...

Here we don't know when it started or when it finished. Night was just falling at that particular moment in the past.

​

- to express a state in the past, or to describe in the past:

 Example: Il pleuvait toute la journée = It rained the whole day.

In this context, you have to be careful to make the distinction with the passé composé. Let's compare this sentence with Il a plu toute la journée. (passé composé)

With imparfait, we see the action of "raining" while it was happening in the past. We describe what the weather was during that particular day. With passé composé, we see the action of "raining" once it is finished. We say that on a certain day in the past, it rained, but that it is not the case anymore and it has nothing to do with the present moment.

​

Exemple: La semaine dernière, il était malade. = Last week, he was sick.​

Here we simply describe his state ("sick") last week (in the past).​

​

Careful! ​​The imparfait can also be found in conditional contexts (if...). It is usually used to express the condition and the second verb will be in the conditionnel présent. See the module "Le conditionnel en français" to know more about this particular use.

Example: Si je connaissais la réponse, je la donnerais. = If I knew the answer, I would give it.

The condition, "connaître", is in the imparfait, while the second verbe "donner", what would happen if the condition proved to be true, is in the conditionnel présent.

​

​

​​

​

​

​

​