Conjugate imperfect French and say how things used to be

Conjugate imperfect French verbs with one rule: take the stem of the nous form of the présent, drop -ons, and add one of six endings. This page shows the rule, the endings, the one verb that breaks it and the spelling traps, then what the tense is for. To choose between the imparfait and the passé composé, read Imparfait vs passé composé. For the other tenses, see French tenses, explained, and for the method behind every verb, How to conjugate French verbs. Most French examples below come from the Banque de dépannage linguistique of the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF); the verb tables and quiz forms apply its rules. The English glosses are ours.

How do you conjugate the imperfect in French?

Use the nous form of the présent as your starting point. The OQLF says the imparfait stem is the stem of the first person plural of the présent de l’indicatif [1]. Take that nous form, drop -ons, and add the ending for the person you want.

The nous forms in the table are the standard présent forms. The stem rule and the exception come from the OQLF [1]. A quick check: if you can say a verb with nous in the présent, you can already say it in the imparfait.

What are the French imparfait endings?

The endings never change. The OQLF lists them as -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez and -aient, and says they are always the same [1]. Another OQLF page notes that the conditionnel présent uses the same endings, after its own -r- [5].

Avoir has no exception: nous avons gives av-, so j’avais. Spoken, -ais, -ait and -aient often sound alike, so the spelling is where you show who is acting.

Which French verb has a different stem in the imperfect tense?

Only être. Its nous form is nous sommes, so there is no -ons to drop. The OQLF gives it the stem ét- [1]. That gives j’étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient. For the whole verb in other tenses, see To be in French: être conjugation.

How do spelling changes affect the imperfect conjugation in French?

A few stems need a small fix so the sound stays the same. The OQLF lists four cases [1].

Read the first two rows with care. Because the e and the cédille are only needed before an a, they drop out in nous and vous: nous mangions, vous déplaciez. The OQLF rule is about endings that start with a [1]; this follows from it.

The last row is the one learners skip. In nous nous méfiions the stem méfi- already ends in i, and the ending adds another. The OQLF says this i is essential, because it is what tells the imparfait apart from the présent [1]. It also notes that people often say only one i out loud, so the spelling is the part to watch [1].

When do you use the imperfect tense in French?

Use the imperfect for what was going on, not for what happened once and finished. The OQLF says the imparfait shows a past action in progress, part done and part still to do, and does not state where it began or ended [3]. These are its main uses.

• Descriptions and circumstances. Il neigeait; Fiona lisait confortablement dans son fauteuil. (It was snowing; Fiona was reading comfortably in her armchair.) [2]
• Things at the same time. Marc montait les escaliers quand Isabelle l’a appelé. (Marc was going up the stairs when Isabelle called him.) [2]
• An action seen in progress. J’avais vingt ans et je croyais que tout était possible. (I was twenty and I thought everything was possible.) [3]
• Habits and repetition. Elle portait toujours des pantalons, même l’été. (She always wore trousers, even in summer.) [2] Words like toujours and souvent often sit beside a habit, as in that example.
• A softer request. Je voulais vous demander votre avis. (I wanted to ask your opinion.) [2]

In English this tense is spread over “was doing”, “used to do” and sometimes plain “did”. French uses one form for all of them. For how it shares a sentence with the passé composé, go to Imparfait vs passé composé.

How do you make a suggestion with si and the imparfait?

Put the verb after si in the imparfait. The OQLF says that after si the imparfait points to a possible present or future fact, to express a wish, a regret or a suggestion [4]. It is not a past action here.

• Suggestion: Et si nous allions souper? (How about going for supper?) [4]
• Wish: Ah! S’il était riche! (If only he were rich!) [4]
• Condition: Si j’étais célibataire, cet homme m’intéresserait. (If I were single, this man would interest me.) The result is in the conditionnel présent [4]. [[quiz]]

Common mistakes

• Starting from the infinitive instead of nous. The stem is nous minus -ons [1]. Prendre gives pren-, not prend-: nous prenons, so je prenais.
• Forgetting the e or the cédille in -ger and -cer verbs. Je mangeais and je déplaçais keep the sound of the infinitive [1].
• Writing one i after a stem that ends in i. Nous nous méfiions has two [1].
• Doubling l or t in -eler and -eter verbs. In the imparfait they are never doubled: ils s’appelaient [1].
• Using the nous stem for être. Say j’étais, not a form built on sommes [1].
• Using the imparfait for a one-time finished event. It shows an action in progress without limits [3]. For the choice between the two past tenses, use Imparfait vs passé composé.
• Trusting a conjugation page from any site, including this one. The OQLF pages can change. Check the official page’s date against the date at the top of this one.

See also: the French conditional.

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