Forming the imperfect tense
To form the imperfect tense, take the nous form of the present tenseA verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast every day., remove the -ons and add the following endings:
| imperfect endings | Example: jouer – to play | Example: finir – to finish | Example: vendre – to sell | |
| nousform of present tense | jouons | finissons | vendons | |
| remove-ons | jou | finiss | vend | |
| je | ais | jouais | finissais | vendais |
| tu | ais | jouais | finissais | vendais |
| il/elle/on | ait | jouait | finissait | vendait |
| nous | ions | jouions | finissions | vendions |
| vous | iez | jouiez | finissiez | vendiez |
| ils/elles | aient | jouaient | finissaient | vendaient |
| nousform of present tense | |
| imperfect endings | |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouons |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissons |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendons |
| remove-ons | |
| imperfect endings | |
| Example: jouer – to play | jou |
| Example: finir – to finish | finiss |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vend |
| je | |
| imperfect endings | ais |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouais |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissais |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendais |
| tu | |
| imperfect endings | ais |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouais |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissais |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendais |
| il/elle/on | |
| imperfect endings | ait |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouait |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissait |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendait |
| nous | |
| imperfect endings | ions |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouions |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissions |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendions |
| vous | |
| imperfect endings | iez |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouiez |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissiez |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendiez |
| ils/elles | |
| imperfect endings | aient |
| Example: jouer – to play | jouaient |
| Example: finir – to finish | finissaient |
| Example: vendre – to sell | vendaient |
Être is the only irregularSomething that does not follow regular patterns and may have a different form. verb in the imperfect tense. The stem is irregular but the endings are the same as for regular verbs in the imperfect tense
| j’étais | I was |
| tu étais | you (singular, informal) were |
| il/elle/on était | he/she/one was |
| nous étions | we were |
| vous étiez | you (formal or plural) |
| ils/elles étaient | they were |
| j’étais |
| I was |
| tu étais |
| you (singular, informal) were |
| il/elle/on était |
| he/she/one was |
| nous étions |
| we were |
| vous étiez |
| you (formal or plural) |
| ils/elles étaient |
| they were |
Use the table above to help you work out the French for the following:
Question
I was playing (je, jouer)
Je jouais
Question
They were eating (ils, manger)
Ils mangeaient.
Tip: don’t forget the ‘e’ after the ‘g’ in the imperfect tense of manger.
Question
He was speaking (il, parler)
Il parlait
Question
You were waiting (tu, attendre)
Tu attendais
A lot of conjugateWhen a verb is broken down into 'I, you, he/she/it, we, they'. For example, the verb 'to be' in the present tense is: I am, you are, he/she is, we are, they are. verbs with different endings have the same pronunciation.
je jouais, il jouait, ils jouaient - I was playing / I used to play, he was playing / he used to play, they were playing / they used to play
je finissais, il finissait, ils finissaient - I was finishing / I used to finish, he was finishing / he used to finish, they were finishing, they used to finish
je vendais, il vendait, ils vendaient - I was selling / I used to sell, he was selling / he used to sell, they were selling / they used to sell
