L'Imparfait in French Grammar
The imparfait (the imperfect) is a French past tense. It describes states and actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past.
When to use the imperfect tense in French
to describe a situation in the past
to describe a person, a property, a comment or an explanation in the past
to talk about a repeated action in the past
to talk about simultaneously occurring actions in the past
to emphasise the duration of an action
How to conjugate the imperfect tense in French
Secret_formula
| Person | Table_aimer | Table_finir | Table_dormir |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | aimais | finissais | dormais |
| tu | aimais | finissais | dormais |
| il/elle | aimait | finissait | dormait |
| nous | aimions | finissions | dormions |
| vous | aimiez | finissiez | dormiez |
| ils/elles | aimaient | finissaient | dormaient |
Exceptions to the conjugation rules
- Cer_rule
- Ger_rule
Only_irregular
Etre_name
Etre_stem
Etre_why
How to form the negative with the imparfait
Ne... PasNegation_wrap
Je ne souriais pas souvent.