The imperfect presents a past fact without showing its start or end. It serves to establish a description, a habit, an action already in progress, or a frame in which something else happens. It is used when the gaze falls on a past situation as if on a scene already open. In a narrative, it provides the backdrop while the passé composé moves the events forward. For the general values of the verbal system, the link with Temps verbaux helps to situate this tense within the whole.

To talk about a place or an ambiance in the past, the imperfect helps describe what was there. The walls were white, the street was quiet, the coffee smelled of fresh bread, the light fell on the table. It is also suitable for a physical or mental state: it was cold, I was tired, she seemed worried. The verb + complement here gives a stable image, with no sense of sudden change. With a place name, weather, or state, the imperfect establishes the frame before the main action.

Habitual uses in the past

Usage	Explanation
Habitude régulière	We use the imperfect to say what was done often in the past.
Répétition	We use the imperfect to express an action that happened several times in the past.
Comportement habituel	We use the imperfect to describe a normal way of doing things at that time.

The imperfect expresses what was done regularly in the past. It often accompanies markers like every day, often, usually, when I was a child. We say: every summer, we went to the sea; in the evening, he read before sleeping; at that time, I took the bus. The form does not describe a single event, but a repeated or normal practice. For punctual and completed actions, the passé composé is the usual choice.

Uses of the background

Usage	Explanation
Action en cours	We use the imperfect to show that an action was already underway.
Arrière plan	We use the imperfect to set the scene while another past event arrives.
Interruption	We use the imperfect for the ongoing action, then a specific event cuts it.

When an action was already underway, the imperfect presents it as a movement without a visible end. In the sentence I was reading when the phone rang, lisais shows the action already started, and a sonné marks the event that interrupts it. The imperfect also serves to frame several facts within the same scene: it was raining, people were running, the music was playing. In a narrative, it places the living backdrop while another tense signals the precise event. This opposition with the passé composé is the most common key to reading.

Conjugation of -er verbs

Usage	Explanation
Action en cours	On utilise l’imparfait pour montrer qu’une action était déjà en train de se dérouler.
Arrière plan	On utilise l’imparfait pour poser le décor pendant qu’un autre événement passé arrive.
Interruption	On utilise l’imparfait pour l’action qui continue, puis un événement précis la coupe.

For verbs in -er, start from the present nous form. Take nous parlons, remove -ons, then add the imperfect endings. The pattern is -ais for the first person singular, -ais for the second, -ait for the third, -ions for the first person plural, -iez for the second, -aient for the third. Thus: je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait, nous parlions, vous parliez, ils parlaient. The same process applies to chanter, aimer, regarder and all regular -er verbs.

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
il ou elle	rêver
nous	chanter
ils ou elles	adorer
je	danser
vous	porter
tu	manger

Conjugation of other regular verbs

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	danser	dansais
tu	manger	mangeais
il ou elle	rêver	rêvait
nous	chanter	chantions
vous	porter	portiez
ils ou elles	adorer	adoraient

Scramble

Most regular -ir verbs form the imperfect in the same way: take the nous form in the present, keep the stem, then add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. With finir, start from nous finissons and you get je finissais, tu finissais, il finissait, nous finissions, vous finissiez, ils finissaient. With vendre, start from nous vendons and you say je vendais, tu vendais, il vendait, nous vendions, vous vendiez, ils vendaient. The common point is always the stem drawn from nous in the present, then the same endings for all persons.

Verb	Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
	vous	vendre
	il ou elle	servir
	nous	réussir
	je	finir
	ils ou elles	prendre
	tu	offrir

Conjugation of regular verbs other

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	finir	finissais
nous	réussir	réussissions
vous	vendre	vendiez
ils ou elles	prendre	prenaient
tu	offrir	offrais
il ou elle	servir	servait

Scramble

Four very common verbs have special forms in the imperfect. Être gives j’étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient. Avoir gives j’avais, tu avais, il avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient. Faire gives je faisais, tu faisais, il faisait, nous faisions, vous faisiez, ils faisaient. Aller gives j’allais, tu allais, il allait, nous allions, vous alliez, ils allaient. These verbs keep the regular endings of the imperfect, but their stem changes in a fixed way.

Verb	Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
	ils ou elles	aller
	je	être
	vous	faire
	nous	avoir

Common irregular forms

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	être	étais
nous	avoir	avions
vous	faire	faisiez
ils ou elles	aller	allaient

Scramble

Some very common verbs keep the normal endings but modify their stem in the imperfect. Dire becomes je disais, tu disais, il disait, nous disions, vous disiez, ils disaient. The group of lire, écrire, conduire, apparaître follows the same principle of stem change before the endings. These forms are recognizable because the ending stays that of the imperfect, while the beginning does not always resemble the present. The pattern visible in je disais helps to identify verbs that change their stem but conjugate like the regular ones.

Verb	Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
	je	dire
	vous	lire
	ils ou elles	venir
	il ou elle	voir
	nous	écrire

Choice between backdrop and event

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	dire	disais
nous	écrire	écrivions
vous	lire	lisiez
ils ou elles	venir	venaient
il ou elle	voir	voyait

Scramble

The imperfect describes the backdrop, duration, habit, or ongoing action. The passé composé presents a precise, completed event that advances the narrative. Quand j’étais petit, je jouais dans ce parc uses the imperfect for the repeated situation and the temporal frame. Hier, j’ai joué dans ce parc presents a single, completed fact. In the same scene, both tenses may appear together: Je lisais quand Marie est entrée. The imperfect provides the continuous background; the passé composé signals the punctual action that cuts or modifies this background.

Politeness and softening

Idea
On choisit l’imparfait pour une action qui dure ou qui sert de décor dans le passé.
On choisit le passé composé pour un événement précis et terminé.
On peut utiliser l’imparfait pour une habitude du passé.
On peut utiliser le passé composé pour une action unique dans le récit.

In speech, the imperfect softens a request, a question, or a remark. Je voulais vous demander quelque chose sounds less direct than je veux vous demander quelque chose. Je pensais que vous aviez raison tones down the assertion. It is also used to express an intention with distance, like Je venais vous voir or Je voulais savoir. This value creates a form of reserve and politeness, especially in everyday exchanges.