1. L’Imparfait The passé composé and the imparfait Adverb placement
Français 2
Chapitre 6
Grammaire 1

2. The imparfait
The imparfait (imperfect) tense tells _______________or what ___________________ repeatedly in the past. It is also translated as _____________________________. To form the imperfect drop the –ons from the present tense nous form and add these endings:
Je -_____ Nous -_____
Tu -_____ Vous _____
Il/Elle -_____ Ils/Elles -_____

3. The imparfait: Conjugate
parler
finir
vendre

4. The imparfait
Verbs like manger and commencer that have spelling changes in the nous form keep the spelling change in the imperfect in all forms except in the nous and vous forms.
(nous mangeons)
(nous commençons) je
nous tu
vous
il/elle/on
ils/elles je
nous tu
vous
il/elle/on
ils/elles

5. The imparfait j’ nous tu vous il/elle/on ils/elles
Etre is the only verb that has an irregular stem: _____ j’
nous tu
vous
il/elle/on
ils/elles

6. The passé composé and the imparfait
Use both the passé composé and the imparfait to talk about the past.
Use the imparfait to tell how things were or what used to happen over and over.
Quand j’étais jeune, nous allions à la plage chaque été.
(When I was young, we used to go to the beach every summer.)

7. The passé composé and the imparfait
You also use the imparfait to give descriptions.
Il faisait très beau. Il y avait beaucoup de fleurs.
(It was very nice out. There were a lot of flowers.)

8. The passé composé and the imparfait
Us the passé composé to say what happened or what someone did in a set period of time.
Une fois, j’ai fait un château de sable incroyable!
(One time, I made an incredible sandcastle!)

9. The passé composé and the imparfait
Sometimes you need to use both the passé composé and the imparfait in the same sentence. You can tell what was going on (imparfait) when another action happened (passé composé).
Je jouais aux dames quand le téléphone a sonné.
(I was playing checkers when the phone rang.)

10. The passé composé and the imparfait
Use the mnemonic device CHEATED to help remember when to use the imparfait
Continuous action
Habitual action
Endless action (weather, age)
Time (only when saying what time it was)
Emotion
Description

11. CHEATED
CONTINOUS
HABITUAL
ENDLESS
AGE

12. CHEATED
TIME
EMOTION/STATE OF MIND
DESCRIPTION

13. Adverb placement
Generally place adverbs that tell how much, how often, or how well someone does something after the conjugated verb.
Je joue souvent aux dames et hier, j’ai bien joué.
(I often play checkers and yesterday, I played well.)

14. Adverb placement
Comme ci comme ça, quelquefois, and de temps en temps are exceptions, place them at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Je joue aux dames comme ci comme ça. De temps en temps, je joue avec ma soeur. Quelquefois je gagne, mais je perds quelquefois aussi.
(I’m alright at checkers. From time to time I play with my sister. Sometimes I win, but sometimes I lose too.)

15. Adverb placement
Most other adverbs, such as those of time (hier, maintenant) and those ending in -ment usually go at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Normalement je passe le samedi avec mes copains.
(Normally I spend every Saturday with my friends.)