L'imparfait
French has two main past tenses, and you've already met one — the passé composé (lessons 16 and 17), for single completed events: j'ai mangé, elle est partie. Today: the imparfait, for the backdrop past — habits, ongoing scenes, descriptions, weather, age. Translates as 'was doing', 'used to do', 'would do', or just plain past depending on context. Quand j'étais petit, je jouais beaucoup = When I was little, I played a lot.
How to form it — one rule, almost no exceptions
Take the nous form of the present, drop the -ons ending, and add the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Example with parler: nous parlons → stem parl- → je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait, nous parlions, vous parliez, ils parlaient. Same six endings on every verb in the language. Note: -ais, -ait, -aient all sound the same — a single 'eh'. The spellings are different but the speech is identical.
Try it on a few verbs
finir → nous finissons → stem finiss- → je finissais, tu finissais, il finissait, nous finissions, vous finissiez, ils finissaient. manger → nous mangeons → stem mange- (the e stays before a to keep the soft g) → je mangeais, il mangeait, ils mangeaient. avoir → nous avons → stem av- → j'avais, tu avais, il avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient. The pattern just works.
The one true irregular: être
être doesn't follow the nous-form rule (its stem would be weird). Memorize it as a unit: j'étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient. That's it — the only fully irregular imparfait in French. J'étais fatigué = I was tired. Il était dix heures = it was 10 o'clock. Nous étions à Paris = we were in Paris.
When to use it — the 'was/used to' feel
Four classic uses. Habits in the past — what you used to do regularly: Quand j'étais petit, je jouais avec mon frère (when I was little, I played/used to play with my brother). Ongoing background — what was happening when something else interrupted: Je dormais quand le téléphone a sonné (I was sleeping when the phone rang). Descriptions — weather, age, scenery, feelings: Il faisait beau, j'avais dix ans, la maison était grande. Mental and emotional states — verbs like être, avoir, savoir, vouloir, aimer, penser are usually in the imparfait when set in the past: Je voulais partir = I wanted to leave.
Imparfait vs passé composé — the key contrast
Same scene, two angles. The imparfait is the scenery; the passé composé is the event. Il pleuvait quand je suis sorti = It was raining when I went out. Pleuvait is the backdrop (ongoing); suis sorti is the punctual event. Another: Je mangeais = I was eating / I used to eat. J'ai mangé = I ate (and finished). For habits, always imparfait: Tous les matins, je buvais un café (every morning I would drink a coffee). For one-time events with a clear endpoint, passé composé: Hier, j'ai bu trois cafés.
Negation and questions
Same wrappers as everywhere else. Negative: ne + verb + pas. Je ne parlais pas anglais = I didn't speak English / I wasn't speaking English. Elle n'était pas contente = she wasn't happy. Questions: rising tone (Tu travaillais hier?) or est-ce que (Est-ce que tu travaillais hier?). Quand, où, pourquoi all combine with the imparfait normally: Pourquoi tu pleurais? = Why were you crying?
