The easiest formation in French
Take the nous form of the present, remove -ons, and add the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Nous parlons gives parl-, so je parlais. Nous finissons gives finiss-, so je finissais. Nous faisons gives fais-, so je faisais.
One single verb is irregular: être uses the stem ét-, giving j'étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient. Everything else in the language follows the rule.
| Person | parler | finir | être |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | parlais | finissais | étais |
| tu | parlais | finissais | étais |
| il / elle / on | parlait | finissait | était |
| nous | parlions | finissions | étions |
| vous | parliez | finissiez | étiez |
| ils / elles | parlaient | finissaient | étaient |
Verbs in -ger keep their e before a: je mangeais. Verbs in -cer take ç: je commençais. Same spelling logic as in the present tense.
Use one: description and background
The imparfait paints the scene: weather, time, places, feelings, appearances, states of mind. Nothing advances; the tense holds the camera still while it describes.
| Il faisait froid ce matin-là. | It was cold that morning. |
| Nous étions fatigués après le voyage. | We were tired after the trip. |
| La maison sentait le pain chaud. | The house smelled of fresh bread. |
Use two: habits and repetition
For things that used to happen regularly, French uses the imparfait where English says used to or would. Time expressions like tous les jours, souvent, chaque été and le lundi are strong signals.
| Tous les étés, ils allaient chez leurs grands-parents. | Every summer, they went to their grandparents' house. |
| Avant, on se voyait tous les week-ends. | We used to see each other every weekend. |
| Quand j'étais petit, nous habitions à la campagne. | When I was little, we lived in the countryside. |
Use three: ongoing action interrupted
When one past action was in progress and another cut across it, the ongoing action takes the imparfait and the interrupting event takes the passé composé. Elle lisait quand le téléphone a sonné: she was reading (background) when the phone rang (event).
| Elle lisait quand le téléphone a sonné. | She was reading when the phone rang. imparfait for the ongoing action, passé composé for the event |
| Je pensais à toi quand tu as appelé. | I was thinking about you when you called. |
Choosing between imparfait and passé composé
Most real sentences mix the two: the imparfait sets the stage, the passé composé moves the plot. The linked Study Desk article works through a full story with every verb explained, and it is the best next step after this unit.
- What happened? Event, result, change: passé composé. Il a plu hier soir.
- What was going on? Scene, state, habit: imparfait. Il pleuvait depuis le matin.
- Signal words for imparfait: souvent, toujours, tous les jours, chaque année, pendant que
- Signal words for passé composé: soudain, tout à coup, hier, une fois, puis, ensuite
The polite and hypothetical imparfait
Two bonus uses. After si, the imparfait makes suggestions: Si on prenait un café ? How about a coffee? It also softens statements of desire: Je voulais vous demander quelque chose, I wanted to ask you something, which sounds more polite than the present.
| Si on prenait un café ? | How about we get a coffee? si + imparfait for suggestions |
Pronunciation corner
Four of the six imparfait endings sound identical. Your ear should stop expecting a difference.
| parlais / parlait / parlaient | /paʁlɛ/ | all three sound exactly the same: par-LEH |
| étais | /etɛ/ | ay-TEH, two clean syllables |
| faisait | /fəzɛ/ | fuh-ZEH; the ai in fais- sounds like uh, a classic trap |
| habitions | /abitjɔ̃/ | a-bee-TYOHN; the -ions ending adds a y glide |
| allaient | /alɛ/ | a-LEH; the -aient ending is one short vowel |
Practice drill
Put each verb in brackets into the imparfait.
Il ___ (faire) beau hier matin.Show answer
faisait
Nous ___ (habiter) près de la gare.Show answer
habitions
Elle ___ (lire) quand je suis arrivé.Show answer
lisait
Vous ___ (être) où pendant les vacances ?Show answer
étiez
Ils ___ (venir) souvent nous voir.Show answer
venaient
Tu ___ (avoir) un chien avant ?Show answer
avais
Je ___ (finir) toujours avant les autres.Show answer
finissaisstem from nous finissons
On ___ (manger) ensemble tous les midis.Show answer
mangeaitkeep the e before -ait
Frequently asked questions
How do I decide between imparfait and passé composé?
Ask what the verb is doing in the story. If it reports an event that happened and moved things forward, use the passé composé. If it describes a scene, a state or a habit, use the imparfait. Signal words help: soudain points to passé composé, tous les jours points to imparfait.
Is the imparfait the same as English used to?
For habits, yes: je fumais can mean I used to smoke. But the imparfait is wider: it also covers was doing (je lisais, I was reading) and simple past description (il était tard, it was late).
Why is être the only irregular verb in the imparfait?
The imparfait stem comes from the nous form of the present, and être is the one verb whose nous form (sommes) does not supply a usable stem. It borrows ét- instead: j'étais. Every other verb, however irregular elsewhere, is regular here.
Do -ais, -ait and -aient sound different?
No. Parlais, parlait and parlaient are all pronounced the same. Only -ions and -iez are audibly distinct. In listening, the subject pronoun tells you who did the action.
Related deep dives