Un 10.1

The Imparfait

When describing events in the past, the passé composé often works hand in hand with another past tense, the imparfait.

L’imparfait

The imparfait is used to describe an action in the past with a focus on the process of the action. This may involve a single action in process over a period of time in the past, or it may involve an action that was repeated several times over a period of time in the past.

Je regardais le paysage.

I was looking out at the landscape.

I would look out at the landscape.

The imparfait is made up of one part (i.e. there are no auxiliaries). This one part is built by adding the imparfait endings to the stem of a verb’s present tense ‘nous-form’.

penser (-er / group 1) – nous pensons
je	pensais	nous	pensions
tu	pensais	vous	pensiez
il elle on	pensait	ils elles	pensaient

choisir (-ir / group 2) – nous choisissons
je	choisissais	nous	choisissiez
tu	choisissais	vous	choisissions
il elle on	choisissait	ils elles	choisissaient

This makes it important to remember the ‘nous-form’ for verbs in the present tense, especially for those whose spelling changes or who have irregular conjugation patterns.

e.g.

Ils espéraient qu’il y avait beaucoup d’événements.

They were hoping that there were a lot of events.

(espérer -> nous espérons / avoir –> nous avons)

Nous voyions que le prince venait.

We saw that the prince was coming.

(voir -> nous voyons / venir –> nous venons)

A l’université, je finissais mes devoirs, tandis que tu sortais.

At university, I’d finish my homework, whereas you’d go out.

(finir -> nous finissons / sortir –> nous sortons)

Pronunciation rules take precedence, however, particularly in the imparfait’s own ‘nous-form’.

Nous commencions le projet pendant que tu mangeais de la pizza.

We were starting the project while you were eating pizza. (commencer –> nous commençons / manger -> mangeons)

For verbs ending in -ier, two ‘i’s occur in the ‘nous’ and ‘vous’ forms of the imparfait.

À cette époque-là, nous étudiions la psychologie.

At that time, we were studying psychology. (étudier –> nous étudions)

The Verb ‘être’ in the Imparfait – Le verbe ‘être’ à l’imparfait

The verb ‘être’ is the only verb that is irregular in the imparfait. It uses a stem that is not from its present tense ‘nous’ form to create its imparfait conjugation forms. It uses the same imparfait endings, however.

]être – à l’imparfait
j’	étais	nous	étions
tu	étais	vous	étiez
il elle on	était	ils elles	étaient

The Imparfait with Object Pronouns – L’imparfait avec les compléments d’objet (COD/COI)

In the imparfait, object pronouns function in the same way as they do in the present tense. They are placed in front of the sole verb component and have the same forms. The same can be said for reflexive verbs in the imparfait.

e.g.

Les biscuits ? Oui, je les mangeais après chaque dîner.	Cookies? Yes, I would eat them after every dinner.
Ils se rasaient chaque matin parce que c’était à la mode.	They would shave every morning because it was the trend.
Lui téléphoniez-vous ?	Were you phoning him?