The Imperfect in French
The imparfait(imperfect) is a past tense in French used to talk about background information, descriptions, continuous actions, and habitual actions in the past. It's also commonly used in unlikely or hypothetical situations in if-clauses.
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In this article, you'll learn how and when to use the imparfait in French.
Questions This Article Answers
What is the imparfait in French?
When do you use the imparfait in French?
How do you conjugate verbs in the imparfait in French?
The Imparfait in French
The imparfait(imperfect) is a past tense in French used to talk about the following:
- background information and descriptions,
- continuous actions,
- habitual actions,
- unlikely or hypothetical situations in if-clauses.
Let's explore each of these uses of the imparfait in more detail!
1. Background Information and Descriptions
The imparfait is used to introduce background information and to provide descriptions in the past. This includes descriptions of people and places, emotions, the weather, and time.
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2. Continuous Actions
The imparfait is used to describe continuous actions in the past. In other words, the imparfait can emphasize that an action or event was ongoing at some moment in the past. This can often be translated using the past progressive in English (e.g., I was doing something).
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As you can see in the examples above, the imparfait is often used alongside the passé composé. Learn more about these two past tenses in the following articles.
3. Habitual Actions
The imparfait is used in French to express a habitual action in the past. This includes past habits or events that occurred repeatedly.
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For habitual actions, although the imparfait can be translated into English in the simple past (like in the first example), it can also be translated as would or used to plus an infinitive (like in the second and third examples).
4. Unlikely or Hypothetical Situations in If-Clauses
The imparfait is often used in clauses that begin with si(if), known as if-clauses. When this is the case, the if-clause expresses an unlikely or hypothetical situation in the present.
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If-Clauses in the Imparfait Often Pair with the Present Conditional
It's often the case that an if-clause in the imparfait pairs with a main clause in the présent du conditionnel(present conditional). This pattern is known in French as la concordance des temps(the sequence of tenses). Interestingly, the same pattern is observed in English, as you can see in the examples above!
Learn more about the conditional in French in these articles.
The imparfait can also be used in if-clauses to make suggestions, like in the examples below. The conjunction si is then generally preceded by the conjunction et(and): et si(what if or how about).
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Conjugating Verbs in the Imparfait in French
There's a trick to conjugating any verb in the imparfait, but you'll need to rely on your knowledge of the present tense to do so! To conjugate any verb in the imparfait, follow these steps:
- Conjugate the verb in the nous form of the present tense.
- Remove the final -ons to get the imperfect stem.
- Add the imperfect endings below to the end of the stem.
Imperfect Endings in French
| Subject | Ending |
|---|---|
| je | -ais |
| tu | -ais |
| il, elle, on | -ait |
| nous | -ions |
| vous | -iez |
| ils, elles | -aient |
To be able to conjugate verbs in the imparfait, you'll want to be confident in conjugating verbs in the present tense of the indicative! Review the present tense here:
Let's take a look at an -er verb like danser(to dance) in the imparfait. If we conjugate this verb in the nous form of the present tense, we get (nous) dansons. After we remove the final -ons, we're left with the imperfect stem: dans-. We're now ready to conjugate the verb in the imparfait by adding the endings!
Danser in the Imparfait in French
Let's practice creating a couple more imperfect stems, this time with the verbs avoir(to have), finir(to finish), and répondre(to answer):
- avoir → (nous) avons → av-
- finir → (nous) finissons → finiss-
- répondre → (nous) répondons→ répond-
Here's what these verbs would look like with their imperfect endings:
Avoir, Finir, and Répondre in the Imparfait in French
The Irregular Verb Être in the Imparfait
Luckily, there's only one exception to the rules above, which is the verb être(to be)! You'll just need to remember that the imperfect stem for this verb is ét-.
Être in the Imparfait in French
| Subject | French Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | j'étais | I was |
| tu | tu étais | you were |
| il, elle, on | il était | he was |
| nous | nous étions | we were |
| vous | vous étiez | you (all) were |
| ils, elles | elles étaient | they were |
Need Some Practice?
Try conjugating verbs in the imparfait with our Conjugation Drill! With a little practice, the imparfait will become a natural part of your conversations in French.
The past comes up a lot in everyday conversations, as well as in books and novels. Take a look at these articles on different past tenses in French!
