What is the imperfect tense?
The imperfect tense is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the past, especially in descriptions, and to say what used to happen, for example, I used to walk to school; It was sunny at the weekend.
1 Using the imperfect tense
- The imperfect tense is used:
- to describe what things were like and how people felt in the past
- I was very sad when she left. It was pouring with rain.
- to say what used to happen or what you used to do regularly in the past
- We used to get up very early in those days.
- I never used to like milk.
- to indicate things that were happening or something that was true when something else took place
- I was watching TV when the phone rang.
- As we were looking out of the window, we saw someone walk across the lawn.
- Note that if you want to talk about an event or action that took place and was completed in the past, you use the perfect tense.
- You can often recognize an imperfect tense in English because it uses a form like were looking or was raining. The words used to also show an imperfect tense.
TipRemember that you NEVER use the verb être to translate was or were in forms like was raining or were looking and so on. You change the French verb ending instead.
2 Forming the imperfect tense of -er verbs
- To form the imperfect tense of -er verbs, you use the same stem of the verb as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.
| Pronoun | Ending | Add to stem, e.g. donn- | Meanings |
| je (j’) | -ais | je donnais | I gave I was giving I used to give |
| tu | -ais | tu donnais | you gave you were giving you used to give |
| il elle on | -ait | il donnait elle donnait on donnait | he/she/it/one gave he/she/it/one was giving he/she/it/one used to give |
| nous | -ions | nous donnions | we gave we were giving we used to give |
| vous | -iez | vous donniez | you gave you were giving you used to give |
| ils elles | -aient | ils donnaient elles donnaient | they gave they were giving they used to give |
| Il portait toujours un grand chapeau noir. | He always wore a big black hat. |
| Nous habitions à Paris à cette époque. | We were living in Paris at that time. |
| Pour gagner un peu d’argent, je donnais des cours de français. | To earn a little money I used to give French lessons. |
Tipje changes to j’ in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.
3 Forming the imperfect tense of -ir verbs
- To form the imperfect tense of -ir verbs, you use the same stem of the verb as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.
| Pronoun | Ending | Add to stem, e.g. fin- | Meanings |
| je (j’) | -issais | je finissais | I finished I was finishing I used to finish |
| tu | -issais | tu finissais | you finished you were finishing you used to finish |
| il elle on | -issait | il finissait elle finissait on finissait | he/she/it/one finished he/she/it/one was finishing he/she/it/one used to finish |
| nous | -issions | nous finissions | we finished we were finishing we used to finish |
| vous | -issiez | vous finissiez | you finished you were finishing you used to finish |
| ils elles | -issaient | ils finissaient elles finissaient | they finished they were finishing they used to finish |
| Il finissait souvent ses devoirs avant le dîner. | He often finished his homework before dinner. |
| Cet après-midi-là ils choisissaient une bague de fiançailles. | That afternoon they were choosing an engagement ring. |
4 Forming the imperfect tense of -re verbs
- To form the imperfect tense of -re verbs, you use the same stem of the verb as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles. These endings are the same as for -er verbs.
| Pronoun | Ending | Add to stem, e.g. attend- | Meanings |
| je (j’) | -ais | j’attendais | I waited I was waiting I used to wait |
| tu | -ais | tu attendais | you waited you were waiting you used to wait |
| il elle on | -ait | il attendait elle attendait on attendait | he/she/it/one waited he/she/it/one was waiting he/she/it/one used to wait |
| nous | -ions | nous attendions | we waited we were waiting we used to wait |
| vous | -iez | vous attendiez | you waited you were waiting you used to wait |
| ils elles | -aient | ils attendaient elles attendaient | they waited they were waiting they used to wait |
| Christine m’attendait tous les soirs à la sortie. | Christine used to wait for me every evening at the exit. |
| Je vivais seule après mon divorce. | I was living alone after my divorce. |
5 Spelling changes in -er verbs
- As with the present tense, a few -er verbs change their spellings slightly when they are used in the imperfect tense. The forms with spelling changes have been underlined in the tables.
- With verbs such as lancer (meaning to throw), which end in -cer, c becomes ç before an a or an o. This is so that the letter c is still pronounced as in the English word ice.
| Pronoun | Example verb: lancer |
| je | lançais |
| tu | lançais |
| il elle on | lançait |
| nous | lancions |
| vous | lanciez |
| ils elles | lançaient |
- With verbs such as manger (meaning to eat), which end in -ger, g becomes ge before an a or an o. This is so the letter g is still pronounced like the s in the English word leisure.
| Pronoun | Example verb: manger |
| je | mangeais |
| tu | mangeais |
| il elle on | mangeait |
| nous | mangions |
| vous | mangiez |
| ils elles | mangeaient |
- These verbs follow the 1,2,3,6 pattern. That is, they change in the first, second and third person singular, and in the third person plural.
6 Reflexive verbs in the imperfect tense
- The imperfect tense of reflexive verbs is formed just as for ordinary verbs, except that you add the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se).
| Subject pronoun | Reflexive pronoun | Example with laver | Meaning |
| je | me (m’) | lavais | I washed I was washing I used to wash |
| tu | te (t’) | lavais | you washed you were washing you used to wash |
| il elle on | se (s’) | lavait | he/she/it/one washed he/she/it/one was washing he/she/it/one used to wash |
| nous | nous | lavions | we washed we were washing we used to wash |
| vous | vous | laviez | you washed you were washing you used to wash |
| ils elles | se (s’) | lavaient | they washed they were washing they used to wash |
Tipme changes to m’, te to t’ and se to s’ before a vowel, most words starting with h and the French word y.
7 Irregular verbs in the imperfect tense
- The only verb that is irregular in the imperfect tense is être.
| Pronoun | être | Meaning |
| j’ | étais | I was |
| tu | étais | you were |
| il elle on | était | he/she/it/one was |
| nous | étions | we were |
| vous | étiez | you were |
| ils elles | étaient | they were |
| J’étais heureux. | I was happy. |
| Mon père était instituteur. | My father was a primary school teacher. |
Key points
- The imperfect tense endings for -er and -re verbs are:
-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. - The imperfect tense endings for -ir verbs are:
-issais, -issais, -issait, -issions, -issiez, -issaient. - In verbs ending in -cer and -ger:
c → ç and g → ge in all but the nous and vous forms. - être is irregular in the imperfect tense.