L’imparfait Uses and formation

A. In French and in English, people use different tenses to talk about the past.  The most common past tense is the PASSE COMPOSE, which you have been using.  Another frequently used past tense is the IMPERFECT, or L’IMPARFAIT.  In the following sentences below, the verbs are in the IMPERFECT: –Ou est-ce que tu habitais avant? –J’habitais a Bordeaux. –Quand j’étais jeune, je jouais au basket.

The imperfect is a simple tense. It consists of one word. It is formed as follows:  IMPERFECT STEM + IMPERFECT ENDINGS  For all verbs except être, the imperfect stem is derived as follows:  IMPERFECT STEM = nous-form of PRESENT minus –ons  Faisons, prenons, sortons, dormons, parlons, avons, savons, connaissons, voyons, buvons, mangeons, etc.

The imperfect endings are the same for all verbs.  Parlerfinirvendresortir  parlonsfinissonsvendonssortons  Parl-finiss- vend-sort-  Parlaisfinissaisvendaissortais  parlaitfinissaitvendaitsortait  parlionsfinissionsvendionssortions  parliezfinissiezvendiezsortiez  parlaientfinissaientvendaientsortaient

B. L’imparfait du verbe être  J’étais I wasnous étions we were  Tu étais you werevous étiezyou were  Il/elle était he/she was ils/elles étaient they were  The imperfect of être is used to tell where people were or how they were feeling. It is NOT used to describe what they were doing.Compare:  J’étais chez moi. J’etudiais.  I was at home.I was studying.  Elle était malade. Elle regardait.  She was sick.She was watching TV.

C. L’usage de l’imparfait: événements habituels In the sentences below, people are talking about the past. On the left, they describe what they used to do regularly. On the right they describe what they did on a particular occasion.  Habituellement… –Je regardais les programmes de sport. –Nous allions au cinéma. –Paul sortait avec Nathalie.  Un jour… –J’ai regardé un film. –Nous sommes allés à un concert. –Il est sorti avec Nicole.

Although the imperfect and the passe compose are used to talk about the past, each describes a different type of event.  The imperfect is used to describe habitual actions and conditions that existed in the past. It describes what people USED TO DO, what USED TO BE  Quand j’étais jeune, nous habitions à la compagne.  When I was young, we used to live in the country.  En été, j’allais à la piscine avec mes compains.  In the summer, I went (used to go) to the pool with my friends.

The passé composé is used to describe specific past events. It describes what people did, what took place, what happened.  Ma mère a acheté une voiture.  My mother bought a car.  Le weekend dernier, nous sommes allés à la plage.  Last weekend, we went to the beach.

D. L’usage de l’imparfait: actions progressives Compare the uses of the IMPERFECT and the PASSE COMPOSE in the following sentences.  A sept heures, je regardais un film.  Après le film, je suis sorti.  Nous attendions Marc au café.  Finalement, il est arrivé.  At seven, I was watching a movie.  After the movie, I went out.  We were waiting for Marc at the café.  Finally, he arrived.

The IMPERFECT is used to describe actions that were in progress at a certain point in time. It describes what WAS GOING ON, what people WERE DOING.  A sept heures, je faisais mes devoirs.  At seven, I was doing my homework.

The PASSE COMPOSE is used to describe specific actions that occurred at a specific time. It describes what TOOK PLACE, what people DID.  A sept heures, qulequ’un a téléphoné.  At seven, someone phoned.

Quelques expressions de temps  Passé Composé  un soir  mardi  un mardi  un jour  le 4 mai  une fois  deux fois  plusieurs fois  Hier  Hier soir  La semaine derniere  Le mois dernier  L’imparfait  le soir  tous les soirs  le mardi  tous les mardi  chaque jour  tous les jours  d’habitude  habituellement  autrefois  parfois

1.Find the present tense of nous form 2. conjugate the verb with the pronoun given in the imperfect  Parler/ je  Vendre/tu  Jouer/on  Vouloir/elle  Pouvoir/elles  Prendre/nous  Faire/vous  Sortir/je  Choisir/ elles  Dormir/vous  Boire/elles  Voir/tu  Travailler/je  Etre/Marie  Connaitre/elle  Manger/ tu  Finir/il