LImparfait
Describes conditions that were taking place when another action
occurred; used to describe habitual actions or occurrences; used to
describe the past.
Present indicative nous stem + (-ais; -ais; -ait; -ions; -iez;
aient)
Les gens venaient me voir. Il y avait des gens que je ne
connaissais pas.
Exception: tre
Jtais
Nous tions
Tu tais
Vous tiez
Il tait
Ils taient
Pass Compos vs. Imparfait
What happened? = pass compos
What was going on? = imparfait
Using pass compos
Used to describe:
Completed action (has obvious beginning and end)
Heir soir, jai pris mon dner, jai fait la vaisselle et jai fini
mes devoirs.
Changes in state of being
I was hiking in the mountains and became scared after seeing a
bear Jai eu peur. (I was scared/got scared); Jai t terrifi (I was
terrified/I became terrified)
Using the imparfait
Used to describe:
Ongoing past activities with unclear endings; often interrupted
by shorter actions in the pass compos
Hier soir, je regardais un match de football la tl quand le
tlphone a sonn.
Habitual or repeated events in the past. These verbs tend to be
translated to used to or would.
Quand jtais jeune, on allait la plage chaque t.
States of being. Often tre and avoir are used.
Pass compos indicators: hier, une fois, tout coup
Imparfait indicators: souvent, tous les jours, toutes les
semaines, chaque anne, en general
Plus-que-Parfait
-Used to describe something that already happened before
something else took place in the past
Formation:
- Imparfait of auxiliary verb (tre or avoir) + past participle
(main verb)
Quand il est arrive la fte, ses amis taient dj partis.
Auxiliary Verb
Formed in imparfait
House of tre verbs take tre as the auxiliary verb
For negated sentences, just the auxiliary verb is negated.
Past Participle
If conjugated with tre, the past participle agrees in gender and
number with the subject.
If conjugated with avoir, the past participle agrees in gender
and number if theres a preceding direct object.
Elle mavait habille et coiffe.
Past Infinitive
Except for en, infinitives are used after prepositions.
Following aprs, a past infinitive must be used.
Aprs avoir chant, il a mange le poulet.
