Imparfait — Describing the Past in Progress

Why this matters

You know how to talk about completed past events with the passé composé. But what about painting the background of a story? Describing what was happening or what you used to do? That's the imparfait — the tense that gives texture and color to your past narratives. Together with passé composé, these two tenses are the backbone of French storytelling.

🦝 Remy says: "If passé composé is the action movie (things happening, BAM BAM BAM), the imparfait is the soundtrack and scenery. It sets the mood. Good storytelling needs both — and you're about to have both!"

Forming the Imparfait

The imparfait is beautifully regular. Take the nous form of the present tense, drop -ons, then add these endings:

| Pronoun | Ending | |

|

--| | je | -ais | | tu | -ais | | il/elle/on | -ait | | nous | -ions | | vous | -iez | | ils/elles | -aient |

Example: parler → nous parlons → stem: parl-

| Pronoun | Imparfait | |

|

--| | je | parlais | | tu | parlais | | il/elle | parlait | | nous | parlions | | vous | parliez | | ils/elles | parlaient |

The only irregular stem: ÊTRE → ét- (j'étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient)

When to Use the Imparfait

Use the imparfait for:

1. Ongoing past actions / background descriptions

• Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti. = It was raining when I went out.
• La musique jouait, les gens dansaient. = Music was playing, people were dancing.

2. Habitual or repeated past actions (used to)

• Quand j'étais enfant, je jouais au foot. = When I was a child, I used to play football.
• Chaque matin, elle buvait un café. = Every morning, she would have a coffee.

3. Descriptions of states or feelings in the past

• J'avais faim. = I was hungry.
• Il était fatigué. = He was tired.
• Nous adorions ce restaurant. = We used to love this restaurant.

🦝 Remy's memory trick: "The imparfait endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -aient all have an 'ai' in them — say 'ay' like you're thinking nostalgically. Like sighing about the past: 'Those were the days... j'étais jeune, j'aimais la vie...'"

📝 Exercise 1 — Conjugate in imparfait

1. Nous ________ (habiter) à Bordeaux quand j'étais enfant.
2. Il ________ (pleuvoir) ce matin.
3. Tu ________ (aimer) les bonbons quand tu étais petit ?
4. Elles ________ (travailler) ensemble chaque jour.
5. Je ________ (avoir) un chat autrefois.

✅ Answers:

1. habitions
2. pleuvait
3. aimais
4. travaillaient
5. avais

📝 Exercise 2 — Make a sentence

Use the imparfait to describe a past habit or state.

1. (When I was young / I / play / in the garden) → ___
2. (Every summer / we / go / to the beach) → ___
3. (She / be / very shy / as a child) → ___

✅ Model answers:

1. Quand j'étais jeune, je jouais dans le jardin.
2. Chaque été, nous allions à la plage.
3. Elle était très timide quand elle était enfant.

📝 Exercise 3 — Translate

1. It was raining yesterday morning. → ___
2. I used to like chocolate. → ___
3. They (m.) were tired after work. → ___
4. She was speaking on the phone. → ___
5. We lived in Paris for ten years. → ___

✅ Answers:

1. Il pleuvait hier matin.
2. J'aimais le chocolat.
3. Ils étaient fatigués après le travail.
4. Elle parlait au téléphone.
5. Nous habitions à Paris depuis dix ans.

🎯 Today's challenge

Write a short paragraph (4–5 sentences) describing your childhood — where you lived, what you liked, what you used to do. Use the imparfait throughout. Quand j'étais enfant, j'habitais à...

⭐ Key takeaways

• Imparfait = nous present stem + endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
• Use it for: ongoing past actions, habitual past actions (used to), and past states/feelings.
• The only truly irregular imparfait: être → j'étais (stem: ét-).