Imparfait

What is imparfait? Imparfait is a past tense form that is used to describe what things were like. The stem you use to form the imperfect is the nous form of the verb in the present tense without the –ons ending. Example: écrire= écrivons in the nous form so when you take away the –ons you are left with the stem écriv- to which you then add a set of endings.

Imparfait To describe how things and people were in the past. To emphasize that you were in the middle of doing something when something else happened, you can use the expression être en train de in the imparfait followed by an infinative. To describe general conditions or to set the scene. To talk about what used to happen or to tell about repeated habitual actions To make a suggestion you can use the expression si on followed by a verb in the imparfait After words that indicate a repeated action the the past, like toujours, d’habitude, souvent, tous les jours, and de temps en temps To tell how someone seemed to be, you can use the expression avoir l’air in the imparfait followed by an adjective. To tell what was going on when something else happened

Vs passé composé To tell what happened After words that indicate a specific moment in the past like un jour, soudain, tout d’un coup, au moment où, and une fois After words that indicate in which order a series of events occurred like, d’abord, aprés, ensuite, enfin, and finalement. To talk about an even that occurred while another action was going on.

How to conjugate imparfait To form the stem for imparfait, use the nous form of the verb without the –ons ending. . Example: écrire= écrivons in the nous form so when you take away the –ons you are left with the stem écriv- to which you then add a set of endings. The stem of –ger verbs like manger keeps the –e. To make imperfect negative, place ne…pas around the verb

Normal Verbs PARLER STEM endings Je Parl---- -ais Tu Il/Elle/On -ait Nous -ions Vous -iez Ils/Elles -aient

AVOIR J’ avais tu Il/elle/on avait nous avions vous aviez Ils/elles avaient

être J’ étais tu Il/elle/on était nous étions vous étiez Ils/elles étaient