How French works
The imperfect is formed by taking the nous form of the present tense of a verb and adding the following endings:
| avoir to have | ||
|---|---|---|
| je | -ais | aimais |
| tu | -ais | aimais |
| il / elle | -ait | aimait |
| nous | -ions | aimions |
| vous | -iez | aimiez |
| ils / elles | -aient | aimaient |
Like the perfect , the imperfect is a past tense. You use the imperfect in French when you want to describe what was happening in the past:
Here are some examples:
Dehors il pleuvait
Outside it was raining
Nous regardions un film
We were watching a film
You also use the imperfect to describe what someone used to do:
Il jouait au badminton
He used to play badminton
Nous allions souvent au théatre
We often used to go to the theatre
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