The imparfait

Kurz erklärt

The imparfait describes past situations without focusing on their beginning or end. It is often used for habits, repeated actions, ongoing actions, descriptions, and background information. Depending on the context, English may use forms such as ‘was doing,’ ‘used to do,’ or the simple past.

Bildung

Take the present-tense nous form, remove -ons, and add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, or -aient. For example: nous parlons → je parlais. The only irregular stem is être: ét-.

Verwendung

• Past habits or repeated actions
• Descriptions of people, places, weather, feelings, or circumstances in the past
• Actions that were in progress at a past moment

Beispiele

• Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais dehors tous les jours. — When I was a child, I played outside every day.
• Il pleuvait et nous attendions le bus. — It was raining, and we were waiting for the bus.
• Elle était fatiguée, mais elle travaillait encore. — She was tired, but she was still working.

Typischer Fehler

❌ J’était très timide.

✅ J’étais très timide.

The ending must agree with the subject: je takes -ais, while il, elle, and on take -ait.

Merke

Start from the present nous form, not the infinitive. The endings sound similar, so pay close attention when writing.