The Imperfect Past Tense: L'Imparfait by Bruce Sallee and David Hebert
The imperfect past, or imparfait, is less definite than the passé composé. It refers to events without a specific duration. It is relatively easy to understand and remember because it follows very simple formation rules. The imparfait is an important tense in French and can be used in a variety of ways, including the formation of other tenses.
Uses of the Imparfait
One of the most common uses of the imparfait in French is to indicate actions or events that occurred habitually in the past. Because one cannot place these events within a specific time period, the imparfait is used to place these actions or events in an indefinite period. English equivalents include using words like “would” or “used to” to indicate the events that occurred over time in the past. Here are some examples:
J'écoutais la radio chaque matin. |
I used to listen to the radio every morning. |
Nous mangions à la maison. |
We used to eat at the house. |
You will often encounter the imparfait in written French to set tone or setting, describing the general conditions that existed, as follows:
Quand j'étais jeune, j'étais heureux. |
When I was young, I was happy. |
Il pleuvait. |
It was raining. |
Il n'aimait pas les cerises. |
He didn't like cherries. |
You can also use the imparfait to describe the existence of past states or conditions:
Je voulais y aller. |
I wanted to go. |
J'avais peur. |
I used to be afraid. |
The following verbs, which are used to describe circumstances or states, are often seen in the imparfait.
avoir |
to have, to hold |
désirer |
to want, to desire |
être |
to be |
préférer |
to prefer |
penser |
to think |
détester |
to hate |
espérer |
to hope, to wish |
trouver |
to find |
songer |
to dream, to imagine |
pouvoir |
to be able |
savoir |
to know |
vouloir |
to want |
The imparfait is also used with depuis to indicate something that occurred for a period of time before another event occurred:
J'attendais depuis deux heures quand il est arrivé. |
I had been waiting for two hours when he arrived. |
Nous habitions à Paris depuis un an quand nous avons acheté le magasin. |
We had been living in Paris for a year when we bought the store. |
Verbs with Special Meanings in the Imparfait
The imparfait is often used in specific circumstances to convey certain subtleties of time in past events. Because the tense is used to indicate an ongoing period in the past, some verbs take on a unique meaning when cast in the hazy time period indicated with the imparfait.
Être
When used in the imperfect, être takes on the meaning of “was,” because it indicates an ongoing event. When used in the passé composé, the verb carries the sense of “became,” because it indicates a specific time when the event occurred.
Savoir
Because knowledge is assumed to be something held over a long period of time, the imperfect carries the sense of the English word “knew.” When used in the passé composé, savoir tends to indicate that you “found out” something, as we would say in English, to convey the sense of coming upon the knowledge at some particular point in time.
Devoir
In the present tense, devoir means “to have to” do something. In the passé composé, the correct translation would be “had to.” In the imparfait, however, it carries a slightly different sense, instead carrying the sense of “was/were supposed to.” This actually makes sense, because the imparfait is used to indicate events that you cannot pinpoint in time. Because the action or event was something that had to be done, as indicated by the verb devoir, putting it in the imparfait indicates that it didn't happen at a certain time. Therefore, it carries the sense that the obligation was something that occurred over a period of time in the past; “we were supposed to” is the best English approximation.
Vouloir
When vouloir is used to indicate a past state of mind, such as “wanted to write,” the imparfait is the appropriate choice in French. The passé composé is used when you wish to show that the actual act of wanting occurred at a specific point in time, as in “I wanted to write this morning” versus a general state of mind.
Venir de
When venir de is used in the present, it conveys the sense of having just done something. It is used in the imparfait to convey the sense of “had just done something.” This usage is rather idiomatic, so remember to choose the imparfait to avoid confusion.
Pouvoir
When used in the imparfait, pouvoir is much like saying “could have.” In the imparfait, it tends to indicate that it was a possible state of events, but no attempt was ever actually made to achieve the objective. Using pouvoir in the passé composé indicates that an attempt was actually made, because it can be tied to a specific point in time.
Formation of the Imparfait
Instead of using an auxiliary verb, the imparfait is indicated by a special verb ending, so you don't need to watch for extra words. The imparfait is based on the present tense conjugation of the verb; to form the imperfect, instead of using the verb stem, you use the first person plural present-tense conjugation — the form of the verb used with nous. Simply drop the -ons ending and add the correct imparfait ending.
Table 12-12
Imparfait Verb Endings
Person |
Singular |
Plural |
1st Person |
-ais |
-ions |
2nd Person |
-ais |
-iez |
3rd Person |
-ait |
-aient |
The good news is that all French verbs follow this conjugation pattern to form the imperfect tense, with the exception of être, making the imparfait one of the easiest forms to learn. Because it is based on the present-tense nous form, it also has a unique sound from present-tense conjugations, so you will quickly learn to recognize it.
Table 12-13
Regarder Conjugated in the Imparfait
Person |
Singular |
Plural |
1st Person |
je regardais |
nous regardions |
2nd Person |
tu regardais |
vous regardiez |
3rd Person |
il/elle regardait |
ils/elles regardaient |
Sometimes, when forming the imparfait, you will end up with a stem that ends in -i. The nous and vous endings begin with an “i,” so you end up with two. Don't accidentally drop the second “i” in written French.
Table 12-14
Étudier Conjugated in the Imparfait
Person |
Singular |
Plural |
1st Person |
j'étudiais |
nous étudiions |
2nd Person |
tu étudiais |
vous étudiiez |
3rd Person |
il/elle étudiait |
ils/elles étudiaient |
Être follows a different conjugation pattern in the imperfect. Instead of using the nous form sommes, which doesn't have an -ons ending to drop anyway, it uses ét- at the beginning as the stem, with the same endings as the other verbs tacked on at the end.
Table 12-15
Être Conjugated in the Imparfait
Person |
Singular |
Plural |
1st Person |
j'étais |
nous eacutions |
2nd Person |
tu étais |
vous étiez |
3rd Person |
il/elle était |
ils/elles étaient |
In these sections, you learned about the imparfait. Listen to the CD for the pronunciation of some of the expressions you learned.
J'écoutais la radio chaque matin.
Nous mangions à la maison.
Quand j'étais jeune, j'étais heureux.
Il pleuvait.
Il n'aimait pas les cerises.
Je voulais y aller.
J'avais peur.
J'attendais depuis deux heures quand il est arrivé.
Nous habitions à Paris depuis un an quand nous avons acheté le magasin.
