Imperfect Tense in French

Overview

The imparfait (imperfect tense) is the second essential past tense in French, alongside the passé composé. While the passé composé describes completed actions, the imparfait paints the background — ongoing states, habitual actions, descriptions, and situations that were in progress when something else happened. Think of it as the tense for "used to," "was doing," and "it was."

At the A2 level, learning the imparfait opens up a whole dimension of storytelling and description. Without it, you can only report what happened; with it, you can describe what things were like, how you felt, what the weather was doing, and what you used to do. Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais à la campagne (When I was little, I lived in the countryside) gives life and context to your stories.

The good news is that the imparfait is one of the most regular tenses in French. There is only one truly irregular verb (être), and the formation follows a consistent pattern for everything else. The challenge lies not in conjugation but in knowing when to use the imparfait versus the passé composé.

How It Works

Formation:

1. Take the nous form of the present tense
2. Remove -ons
3. Add the imparfait endings

Ending	Example with parler (parl-)
-ais	je parlais
-ais	tu parlais
-ait	il/elle/on parlait
-ions	nous parlions
-iez	vous parliez
-aient	ils/elles parlaient

Common verbs:

Verb	Nous stem	Je form
parler	parl- (nous parlons)	je parlais
finir	finiss- (nous finissons)	je finissais
faire	fais- (nous faisons)	je faisais
avoir	av- (nous avons)	j'avais
aller	all- (nous allons)	j'allais
prendre	pren- (nous prenons)	je prenais
être	IRREGULAR	j'étais

Être (the only irregular verb):

Subject	Form
je	j'étais
tu	tu étais
il/elle/on	il était
nous	nous étions
vous	vous étiez
ils/elles	ils étaient

When to use the imparfait:

Use	Example	English
Habitual past action	Je mangeais des céréales chaque matin.	I used to eat cereal every morning.
Description/state	Il faisait beau.	The weather was nice.
Ongoing action (interrupted)	Je dormais quand tu as appelé.	I was sleeping when you called.
Age/time in the past	J'avais dix ans.	I was ten years old.
Emotions/mental states	Elle était triste.	She was sad.
Setting the scene	Il pleuvait, les rues étaient vides.	It was raining, the streets were empty.

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais à Lyon.	When I was little, I lived in Lyon.	Habitual past
Il faisait beau ce jour-là.	The weather was nice that day.	Description
Nous habitions à Lyon.	We used to live in Lyon.	Habitual
Je mangeais quand tu as appelé.	I was eating when you called.	Ongoing + interruption (PC)
Elle avait les cheveux longs.	She had long hair.	Physical description
Tous les étés, on allait à la mer.	Every summer, we used to go to the sea.	Repeated past habit
Il était trois heures de l'après-midi.	It was three in the afternoon.	Time in the past
Je voulais te parler.	I wanted to talk to you.	Mental state
Les enfants jouaient dans le jardin.	The children were playing in the garden.	Ongoing scene
Avant, je ne savais pas nager.	Before, I didn't know how to swim.	Past state
Il pleuvait et il faisait froid.	It was raining and it was cold.	Weather description

Common Mistakes

Using imparfait for completed actions

• Wrong: Hier, je mangeais une pizza. (meaning "I ate a pizza")
• Right: Hier, j'ai mangé une pizza.
• Why: A completed, one-time action in the past takes the passé composé. The imparfait would only work here to mean "I was eating a pizza (when something happened)."

Using passé composé for descriptions and habits

• Wrong: Quand j'ai été petit, j'ai habité à Paris.
• Right: Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais à Paris.
• Why: Background descriptions, states, and habitual past actions use the imparfait, not the passé composé.

Forgetting that être is the only irregular verb

• Wrong: Je allais (thinking aller might be irregular)
• Right: J'allais
• Why: Aller follows the regular pattern: nous allons → all- → j'allais. Only être has an irregular stem (ét-) in the imparfait.

Confusing imparfait endings with other tenses

• Wrong: Nous parlons (present) when you mean Nous parlions (imparfait)
• Right: Watch the -ions/-iez endings carefully.
• Why: The nous and vous forms of the imparfait (-ions, -iez) can sound similar to the present when spoken quickly. Pay attention to the extra syllable.

Usage Notes

The imparfait and passé composé work together to tell stories in French. The imparfait sets the scene (weather, emotions, descriptions, ongoing actions), while the passé composé advances the plot (events, changes, completed actions). Mastering this interplay is one of the defining skills of A2-B1 French.

Common time markers that signal the imparfait: toujours (always), souvent (often), chaque jour/semaine (every day/week), d'habitude (usually), quand j'étais jeune (when I was young), avant (before/in the past).

Common time markers that signal the passé composé: hier (yesterday), la semaine dernière (last week), soudain (suddenly), tout à coup (all of a sudden), une fois (once).

Practice Tips

1. Describe what your life was like five years ago using only the imparfait: where you lived, what you did, what you liked, what the weather was like in your city.
2. Tell a short story alternating between the two past tenses: Il faisait nuit (imparfait). Soudain, j'ai entendu un bruit (passé composé). J'avais peur (imparfait). J'ai allumé la lumière (passé composé).
3. Conjugate five verbs in the full imparfait paradigm (all six persons), starting from the nous present form each time. This reinforces the regular pattern.

Related Concepts

• Passé Composé — the parent concept and the tense most often paired with the imparfait
• Imperfect vs Passé Composé — detailed guide to choosing between the two past tenses
• Indirect Speech — the imparfait is used in reported speech transformations