Imparfait for Descriptions and Habits

This tense focuses on the past without a clear beginning or end. Imagine you are watching an old movie. The imparfait is the background music playing. It is also the steady rain in the scene. In English, we often translate this as "used to" or "was doing." For example, "I was eating" or "I used to live here." It does not care about the exact second something stopped. It cares about the habit. It cares about the feeling. In French, we use it for descriptions and repeated actions. It is very regular. This makes it a favorite for many students. You only have one truly irregular verb to worry about! That is basically a grammar miracle.

1. 1Building the imparfait is like following a simple recipe. You only need two main ingredients: the right stem and the special endings.
2. 2Find the present tense nous form of the verb.
3. 3Remove the -ons ending. This is your magic stem.
4. 4Add the imparfait endings to that stem.
5. 5Here are the endings you must memorize:
6. 6je -> -ais
7. 7tu -> -ais
8. 8il/elle/on -> -ait
9. 9nous -> -ions
10. 10vous -> -iez
11. 11ils/elles -> -aient
12. 12Let’s look at parler. The nous form is parlons. Remove -ons to get parl-. Now add the endings: je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait. It sounds exactly like a melody! Note that -ais, -ais, -ait, and -aient all sound the same. This is your new best friend in pronunciation. The only rebel is être. Its stem is ét-. Everything else follows the nous rule. Even the weird verbs like finir (finissons -> finiss-) follow this. It is very logical.

Use the imparfait when you want to describe a scene. This includes weather, age, feelings, and physical traits. "The sky was blue" is le ciel était bleu. Use it for habits. "Every Sunday, we went to the park" is chaque dimanche, nous allions au parc. Think of it for ongoing actions. "I was sleeping when the phone rang." The sleeping part is imparfait. It is the background state. It is perfect for telling stories. It gives the listener the context. You use it to say how old you were. J'avais dix ans. You use it for emotions. J'étais heureux. It is the "vibe" tense. Use it when there is no specific deadline for the action. If it happened many times, it belongs here. If it was a continuous state, it belongs here.

Do not use the imparfait for sudden, one-time actions. If you tripped and fell once, use passé composé. If the action has a clear start and a clear finish, stay away from imparfait. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Green means the action is flowing (imparfait). Red means the action stopped dead (passé composé). If you say "I lived in Paris for two years," and you are done, use passé composé. If you say "I was living in Paris when I met her," use imparfait. Avoid it for lists of events. "I woke up, I ate, I left." These are all completed snapshots. They are not background scenery.

Many people forget to go to the nous form first. They try to use the infinitive stem. This will fail with verbs like finir or vendre. Always check the nous form! Another mistake is the "ils" ending. People often try to pronounce the -ent in -aient. Keep it silent! It sounds just like -ais. Don't overthink the nous and vous forms. They add an i (-ions, -iez). It feels a bit like the subjonctif or the present tense of étudier. It sounds like "ee-ons." Another trap is using it for a specific duration. If you mention "for three hours," you usually need the passé composé. The imparfait is for vague timeframes.

In English, we have "I was eating" and "I used to eat." French uses the imparfait for both. This simplifies things for you! However, the biggest fight is with the passé composé. Think of the passé composé as the interrupter. You were walking (imparfait) when you saw a dog (passé composé). The walking was the movie scene. The dog was the plot point. In a job interview, you use imparfait to describe your old responsibilities. You use passé composé to talk about a specific project you finished. It’s the difference between "I was a manager" and "I signed the contract."