The imperfect tense Flashcards
When do we use the imperfect tense? Give 2 occasions.
- To describe an unfinished action in the past
2. To describe what something was like
When forming the imperfect tense, all but one verb follows the same pattern. Generally, how do we form the imperfect tense?
Give 3 steps.
- Take the ‘nous’ form of the present tense
- Lose the -ons
- Add the imperfect ending
What is the imperfect ending for ‘je’?
-ais
What is the imperfect ending for ‘tu’?
-ais
What is the imperfect ending for ‘il / elle / on’?
-ait
What is the imperfect ending for ‘nous’?
-ions
What is the imperfect ending for ‘vous’?
-iez
What is the imperfect ending for ‘ils / elles’?
-aient
When forming the imperfect tense, some regular verbs need an extra letter.
For verbs like ‘manger’ (those that end in -ger), what do we add?
To demonstrate, conjugate ‘I was eating’.
We add an -e after the -g before we add the ending.
Je mangeais
When forming the imperfect tense, some regular verbs need a different accent.
For verbs like ‘commencer’ (those that end in -cer), what do we add?
To demonstrate, conjugate ‘he was starting’.
We replace the -c with a -ç
Il commençait
Conjugate the following:
I was thinking You (informal) were doing He was finishing She was bored We (formal) were playing You (formal) were crying They (male) were starting They (female) were eating
Je pensais Tu faisais Il finissait Elle š'ennuiaient Nous joueions Vous pleuriez Ils commençaient Elles mangeaient
Which is the only verb that does not follow the regular conjugation rules in the imperfect tense?
être (to be)
How do we form the imperfect tense for être? Give 2 steps.
- We use the stem ét-
2. Then add the imperfect ending
Conjugate the following:
I was You (informal) were She was We (formal) were You (plural) were They (female) were
J'étais Tu étais Elle était Nous étions Vous étiez Elles étaient
