Introduction to the French imperfect past tense (l’imparfait)

The French imperfect tense, or in French l’imparfait, is one of the past tenses used to describe ongoing or repeated actions, habitual actions, and states of being in the past. Although there are more, this is arguably the most important past tense. The imperfect tense is often the second tense you will learn after the present tense. It is often used to set the scene, describe background information, or express past habits or characteristics. Here’s an overview of how to form and use the imperfect tense.

When to use the imperfect past tense (l’imparfait) in French

1. Habitual actions in the past: Describing actions that used to happen regularly in the past.
   • Quand j’étais jeune, je jouais au football tous les jours.
   • When I was young, I used to play football every day
2. Background information: Setting the scene or providing background details in a narrative.
   • Il faisait nuit et la lune brillait dans le ciel.
   • It was night, and the moon was shining in the sky
3. Physical and emotional states in the past: Describing physical or emotional states that lasted for a duration.
   • Elle avait peur des chiens.
   • She used to be afraid of dogs
4. Simultaneous actions in the past: Describing two actions that were happening simultaneously in the past.
   • Il lisait un livre pendant qu’elle écrivait une lettre.
   • He was reading a book while she was writing a letter
5. Politeness or distancing: Using the imperfect to soften statements, particularly in formal or written language.
   • Je voulais vous demander…
   • I wanted to ask you…

Conjugating for the imperfect tense

Conjugating -er verbs for the imperfect tense

	Suffix	Parler (To speak)	Manger (To eat)	Aimer (To love)
Je	-ais	parlais	mangeais	aimais
Tu	-ais	parlais	mangeais	aimais
Il/Elle/On	-ait	parlait	mangeait	aimait
Nous	-ions	parlions	mangeions	aimions
Vous	-iez	parliez	mangeiez	aimiez
Ils/Elles	-aient	parlaient	mangeaient	aimaient

Conjugating -ir verbs for the imperfect tense

	Suffix	Finir (To finish)	Choisir (To choose)	Établir (To establish)
Je	-issais	finissais	choisissais	établissais
Tu	-issais	finissais	choisissais	établissais
Il/Elle/On	-issait	finissait	choisissait	établissait
Nous	-issions	finissions	choisissions	établissions
Vous	-issiez	finissiez	choisissiez	établissiez
Ils/Elles	-issaient	finissaient	choisissaient	établissaient

Conjugating -re verbs for the imperfect tense

	Suffix	Répondre (To answer)	Vendre (To sell)	Attendre (To wait)
Je	-ais	répondais	vendais	attendais
Tu	-ais	répondais	vendais	attendais
Il/Elle/On	-ait	répondait	vendait	attendait
Nous	-ions	répondions	vendions	attendions
Vous	-iez	répondiez	vendiez	attendiez
Ils/Elles	-aient	répondaient	vendaient	attendaient

Conjugating the imperfect tense for irregular vers

Of course the imperfect tense for irregular verbs has no specific order, but nonetheless here is the conjugation for être (to be), faire (to do), avoir (to have) and aller (to go).

	Être (to be)	Faire (to do)	Avoir (to have)	Aller (to go)
Je	étais	faisais	avaisais	allais
Tu	étais	faisais	avaisais	allais
Il/Elle/On	était	faisait	avait	allait
Nous	étions	faisions	avaions	allions
Vous	étiez	faisiez	avaiez	alliez
Ils/Elles	étaient	faisaient	avaient	allaient

Difference between the imperfect and the Passé Composé

So the imperfect past tense is not the only past tense. French has a number of them. The two most important are the imperfect that you learned here and the Passé Composé. They have different functions. The main difference between the imperfect past tense and the Passé Composé is that the imperfect describes past events and actions which are not implicitly completed. The Passé Composé describes events and actions that have clearly ended. Some examples.

Sentences in the imperfect tense

• Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais souvent avec mes amis dans le parc.
  When I was a child, I used to play often with my friends in the park.
• Elle habitait dans cette maison depuis dix ans.
  She had been living in this house for ten years.
• Il aimait lire des livres pendant des heures.
  He used to love reading books for hours.

Sentence in the Passé Composé

• Hier, j’ai rencontré un vieil ami au café.
  Yesterday, I met an old friend at the café.
• Elle a fini ses devoirs avant le dîner.
  She finished her homework before dinner.
• Nous avons visité Paris l’année dernière pendant les vacances.
  We visited Paris last year during the holidays.

And one sentence that combines both ;

• J’allais à l’école quand il a commencé à pleuvoir.
• I was going to school when it started to rain

In this sentence, j’allais (imperfect tense) describes an ongoing action (going to school) in the past, while il a commencé (passé composé) describes a specific event (started raining) that interrupted the ongoing action.