Overview

The imparfait is a French past tense used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, background details, or states of being. It contrasts with the passé composé, which expresses specific completed actions. The imparfait often translates to "was/were ...ing" or "used to" in English.

Formation

To form the imparfait, start with the nous form of the present tense, remove the -ons ending, and add the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. These endings are the same for all regular and many irregular verbs.

Usage

The imparfait is used for descriptions of people, places, conditions, and time in the past. It expresses habitual actions or states, ongoing situations, or actions that were in progress when something else occurred.

Examples

Description: Il faisait beau hier. – It was nice weather yesterday.
Habitual: Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais au football. – When I was a child, I used to play soccer.
Background action: Je lisais quand tu as appelé. – I was reading when you called.

Conjugations

Here is the conjugation of parler (to speak) in the imparfait:

French Pronoun	French Conjugation	English Conjugation	French Example	English Example
je	parlais	I was speaking	Je parlais à mon ami.	I was speaking to my friend.
tu	parlais	you were speaking	Tu parlais trop vite.	You were speaking too fast.
il/elle/on	parlait	he/she/one was speaking	Il parlait français couramment.	He was speaking French fluently.
nous	parlions	we were speaking	Nous parlions souvent ensemble.	We were often speaking together.
vous	parliez	you (plural) were speaking	Vous parliez doucement.	You were speaking softly.
ils/elles	parlaient	they were speaking	Elles parlaient toute la soirée.	They were speaking all evening.

Irregular Verbs

Most verbs form the imparfait regularly with the nous stem, except for être, which uses éta- as its stem.

Example for être: