Understanding L'Imparfait (The Imperfect Tense)

The imperfect tense in French serves multiple purposes in expressing past actions and states. It is particularly useful for describing ongoing situations, habits, and repeated actions in the past.

Definition: L'imparfait is a past tense used to express ongoing actions, habits, repetitions, or descriptions in French.

Highlight: Unlike other French tenses, the imperfect tense has no irregular verbs, making it more straightforward to learn and apply.

Example: The verb "courir" (to run) conjugated in l'imparfait:

• Je courais (I was running)
• Tu courais (You were running)
• Il/Elle courait (He/She was running)
• Nous courions (We were running)
• Vous couriez (You were running)
• Ils/Elles couraient (They were running)

Vocabulary: The standard endings for l'imparfait are:

• -ais (je/tu)
• -ait (il/elle)
• -ions (nous)
• -iez (vous)
• -aient (ils/elles)

These endings are consistent across all verbs in French when conjugated in the imperfect tense, making it one of the more accessible aspects of French grammar to master.