© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-1 Point de départ You’ve learned how the passé composé can express past actions. Now you’ll learn another past tense, the imparfait (imperfect).
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-2 The imparfait can be translated several ways into English.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-3 The imparfait is used to talk about actions that took place repeatedly or habitually during an unspecified period of time.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-4 To form the imparfait, drop the -ons ending from the nous form of the present tense and replace it with these endings.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-5 Verbs whose infinitives end in -ger add an e before all endings of the imparfait except in the nous and vous forms. Verbs whose infinitives end in -cer change c to ç before all endings except in the nous and vous forms.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-6 Note that the nous and vous forms of infinitives ending in -ier contain a double i in the imparfait.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-7 The imparfait is used for description, often with the verb être, which is irregular in this tense.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-8 Note the imperfect forms of these expressions.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-9 The verbs dire, lire, and écrire. The verbs dire (to say), lire (to read), and écrire (to write) are conjugated as follows: je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent; je lis, tu lis, il lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent; j’écris, tu écris, il écrit, nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils écrivent. The verb décrire (to describe) is conjugated like écrire.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-10 The verbs dire, lire, and écrire. (continued) The past participle of dire, écrire, and décrire, respectively, are dit, écrit, and décrit. The past participle of lire is lu.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-11 The verbs dire, lire, and écrire. (continued) The past participle of dire, écrire, and décrire, respectively, are dit, écrit, and décrit. The past participle of lire is lu.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-12 The verbs dire, lire, and écrire. (continued) In the imparfait, these verbs have regular endings.
© and ® 2011 Vista Higher Learning, Inc.7B.2-13 Essayez! Choisissez la réponse correcte pour compléter les phrases. 1.Muriel (réservais/réservait) une chambre en ville. 2.Vous (partageait/partagiez) une chambre avec un autre étudiant. 3.Nous (écrivait/écrivions) beaucoup à nos amis. 4.Il y (avait /était) un bon restaurant au premier étage. 5.Il (neigeait /fallait) mettre le chauffage (heat) quand il (faisaient /faisait) froid. 6.Qu’est-ce que tu (faisait / faisais) à la plage? 7.Vous (lisiez/lisaient) beaucoup avant? 8.Nous (étaient /étions) trois dans la petite chambre.