French5 views·Updated Jun 19, 2026·2 pages

L’imparfait : Guide de révision pour le passé simple

Keira Kennedy McGrath@keirakennedymcg

The French imperfect tense(imparfait) is your go-to for talking...

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Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)

Meaning

Generally we can translate this tense by saying:

I used to do or I was doing

So, the imperfect tense

Understanding the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is actually dead handy once you get the hang of it. You'll use it whenever you want to say "I used to do" or "I was doing" something in French.

There are three main situations where you'll reach for the imperfect. First, when describing repeated actions in the past - like "When I was young, I used to go to the cinema every week." Second, for incomplete actions that were happening at a specific time - "At 2 o'clock yesterday I was playing tennis." Finally, for descriptions rather than actions - "The weather was nice" or "He was very happy."

Forming the imperfect is straightforward. Take any verb's nous form in the present tense, chop off the -ons, and add the imperfect endings. For example: finir → nous finissons → je finissais. The only rebel here is être, which becomes j'étais.

Quick Tip: Remember that the imperfect is all about setting the scene or describing ongoing situations, not completed actions!

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Conjugation Pattern and Practice

Let's look at a complete verb conjugation using regarder (to watch). The pattern is: je regardais, tu regardais, il regardait, nous regardions, vous regardiez, ils regardaient. Notice that il and ils sound exactly the same when spoken!

Those practice questions are brilliant for getting comfortable with the tense. You'd answer "Qu'est-ce que vous faisiez dimanche dernier?" (What were you doing last Sunday?) with something like "Je regardais la télé" or "Je faisais mes devoirs." The key is thinking about what you were doing at that specific moment.

The big difference between perfect and imperfect tense? Perfect tense is for completed actions ("I went"), whilst imperfect is for ongoing situations or habits ("I was going" or "I used to go"). Perfect tense moves the story forward; imperfect sets the background scene.

Remember: If you can translate it with "used to" or "was doing" in English, you probably need the imperfect in French!

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French5 views·Updated Jun 19, 2026·2 pages

L’imparfait : Guide de révision pour le passé simple

Keira Kennedy McGrath@keirakennedymcg

Add to Google sources

The French imperfect tense (imparfait) is your go-to for talking about ongoing actions, habits, and descriptions in the past. Think of it as the "used to" or "was doing" tense that brings past stories to life.

of 2

Understanding the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is actually dead handy once you get the hang of it. You'll use it whenever you want to say "I used to do" or "I was doing" something in French.

Quick Tip: Remember that the imperfect is all about setting the scene or describing ongoing situations, not completed actions!

of 2

Conjugation Pattern and Practice

Remember: If you can translate it with "used to" or "was doing" in English, you probably need the imperfect in French!